Current Exhibit

“Daring to Be,” a photography exhibit focusing on thirty women from the Yucatán region in Mexico, will be on display in the Gallery in the Round, at the Unitarian Fellowship of Ames (1015 N. Hyland Ave., Ames) from April 24 to June 11, 2011. The Gallery Hours are: Sundays 12:30-1:30, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays 9-5, and Wednesdays 12:30-7.

On May 5, from 7 to 8:30 pm, there will be a reception and gallery talk with Jann Freed.  Jann will read from her recent book, “Women of Yucatan: Thirty who Dared to Change their World,” published by McFarland Publishing at about 7:45 pm. Mexican snacks will be served. This reception and the exhibit at the Gallery in the Round are free and open to the public.

Freed, professor of business management at Central College in Pella and Iowa Sister States volunteer, and George Ann Huck, professor emerita of Spanish at Central College, collaborated on the book and the exhibit. The book profiles 30 women who have dared to challenge gender inequalities set against them at birth in their native Mexico. The idea for the book emerged during the semester Freed taught at Central’s Yucatan program. The two paired up to interview 30 women in this patriarchal society. The profiles, supplemented by photographs, describe the women’s accomplishments and motivations as well as the obstacles they have confronted.

The bilingual photography exhibit has been displayed in more than 25 locations around the state of Iowa since 2000. The exhibit was shown in Mérida Yucatán in 2004, with most of the profiled women present. This project was supported by grants from Central College, Humanities Iowa, the Iowa Arts Council, and Iowa Sister States Program.