46 Artists for America's First Ladies

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courtesy Arts + Literature Laboratory

Works created in conjunction with the Forward Theater production "46 Plays for America's First Ladies" (clockwise from top left): Sarah Polk by Angelica Contreras; Melania Trump by Kel Mur; Dolley Madison by Emma LaPine; Jane Pierce by Tona Williams; Michelle Obama by Sharon Bjyrd; Florence Harding by Sara Meredith.

media release: Visit the Diane Endres Ballweg Gallery on the third floor of Central Library through March 11 for the Bubbler at Madison Public Library's new exhibit, 46 Artists for America's First Ladies. Browse a vast array of interpretations of first ladies who span and influenced American history through the lens of local women artists of all ages, including artists of color, LGBTQ+ artists and artists with disabilities working in a wide variety of mediums: painting, embroidery, poetry, sculpture, book arts, collage, wood, printmaking, glass, drawing and more. The 46 participating artists and writers were randomly assigned one of the first ladies in December 2020, and had 3-1/2 months to research their subject and create a new 12" x 12" work in any medium.

The work is displayed alongside books about the First Ladies from the Madison Public Library collection and an new interactive piece created by UnderBelly Creative.

A reception and poetry reading will be held on Presidents' Day, Monday, February 21 at 7pm. Poets include Katrin Talbot, Rita Mae Reese, Sasha Debevec McKenney, and Rachel Werner.

46 Artists for America's First Ladies is presented in conjunction with Forward Theater Co., with support from Arts + Literature Laboratory, Dane Arts, Madison Arts Commission and the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Participating Artists:

Rita Mae Reese (Martha Washington), Katherine Steichen Rosing (Abigail Adams), Julie Franki (Martha Jefferson), Emma LaPine (Dolley Madison), Samantha Hirsch Link (Elizabeth Monroe), Leigh Szuch (Louisa Adams), Rita Yanny (Rachel Jackson), Pat Kroth (Hannah Van Buren), Issis Macias (Anna Harrison), Helen Rogers (Letitia and Julia Tyler), Angelica Contreras (Sarah Polk), Molly Krolczyk (Margaret Taylor), Lesly Winslow-Stanley (Abigail Fillmore), Tona Williams (Jane Pierce), Sandra Klingbeil Adkins (Harriet Lane), Phyllis Wax (Mary Lincoln), Mauree Childress (Eliza Johnson), Andrea (Drea) McAlister (Julia Dent Grant), Virginia Rose (Lucy Hayes), Jaroslava Jarka Sobiskova (Lucretia Garfield), Katrin Talbot (Ellen Arthur), Briana Richardson (Frances Cleveland), Sasha Debevec-McKenney (Caroline Harrison), Jennifer Morales (Frances Cleveland), Holly Anne Burns (Ida McKinley), Faye Willems (Edith Roosevelt), Margaret Rozga (Helen Herron Taft), Virginia Huber (Ellen Wilson), Sara Meredith (Florence Harding), Rosy Petri (Grace Coolidge), Rachel Werner (Lou Henry Hoover), Jennifer Braga (Eleanor Roosevelt), Stephanie Trenchard (Bess Truman), Melissa Dorn (Mamie Eisenhower), Maggie Sasso (Jacqueline Kennedy), Carlee Latimer (Lady Bird Johnson), Kassandra Palmer (Pat Nixon), Araceli Esparza (Betty Ford), Kathryn H Lederhause (Rosalynn Carter), Christy Grace (Nancy Reagan), Nora-Kathleen Berryhill (Barbara Bush), Wendy Vardaman (Hillary Rodham Clinton), Steph Hagens (Laura Bush), Sharon L Bjyrd (Michelle Obama), Kel Mur (Melania Trump), Anna Mueller (Jill Biden)