SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Phaze 2 Gallery opens the academic year with an exhibit based on the fall 2021 class, Speculative Sex, taught by Kay Dartt, clinical assistant professor of art at Shepherd, and Taylor Hokanson, associate professor of art at Columbia College Chicago.
The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, opens with a reception on Tuesday, September 6, at 5 p.m. and will run through September 29. Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6-8 p.m.
Dartt and Hokanson taught concurrent sessions of Speculative Sex, a course they developed around sex and gender. Speculative Sex was primarily a studio class, though queer theory was also explored through critical readings and group discussion.
The gallery exhibit collects many artworks produced by students from Columbia College Chicago and Shepherd, brought together to challenge conventional perspectives about bodies, identity, and expressions of intimacy.
Participants include Louise Bean, Jo-Nathan Beaufort, Derek Bedell, Kelsey Bogdan, Abigail Bowman, Lisette Carteno, Seah Fitzgerald, Brandon Gonzalez, Jillian Hull, Nicole Leung, Fin Marchesani, Hakema Mtuanu, Jay Patterson, Chris Plewka, Kevin Rivera, James Ross, Grayson Spinney, Cordelia Weatherby, and Aleida Zapata.
The exhibit is partially supported by a grant from Shepherd’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Columbia College Chicago.