Virtual Program: From Suffrage to Selfies: Expectations and Realities for American Women

Tuesday, June 16th @ 6:30pm

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex..." 

    - the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

On June 16th, 1919, Kansas became one of the first states to ratify the 19th Amendment, supporting an 80-year movement to give women the right to vote.  Celebrate this anniversary at WPL with a presentation by Jenn Hudson, Instructor at Kansas State University and Kansas artist for the Her Flag project.  Jenn will talk about her involvement with the Her Flag project, a nation-wide art and travel project created by artist Marilyn Artus to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 72 years long fight for women's national voting rights.

Women’s suffrage has been a complimentary topic to content in Jenn’s work, as she has participated in several projects celebrating the centennial of the 19^th Amendment. As the Kansas representative for the nation-wide collaborative project Her Flag, Jenn created a stripe for the flag celebrating Kansas’ contributions to the women’s suffrage movement. 

In addition to discussing the project, Jenn will talk about how women are surrounded by messages detailing how to meet cultural expectations set by society. The messages often revolve around appearance and submission. The consequences of societal values which value women as objects of display can range from minor social misery to violence. As women challenge the status quo of their time, the feminist topics at play evolve. By incorporating a focus of these topics into painting, artist Jenn Hudson hopes to continue a conversation that can contribute to the change already put into motion by the activists coming before her and the contemporaries around her. 

Jenn Hudson is an MFA Painting candidate and Instructor at Kansas State University. Through layered watercolor and oil paint, Jenn’s works explore her experiences with gender, appearances, and women’s roles in society. Her current research focuses on the intersection of selfies, appearance, and self-esteem; exploring ideas of cost, consumption, and identity through a reinterpretation of these digital self-portraits in paint.

Her Flag is a nationwide project involving a female artist from each of the 36 states that ratified the 19th Amendment into law.  Each artist created a piece of art that Marilyn is turning into a stripe to be included in a 18 x 26 feet flag celebrating this fight and anniversary.  Marilyn is currently traveling - in order of ratification - to each state and, in a public performance, stitching each stripe onto Her Flag.  You can follow her journey on herflag.com.