Sumoud and Todamon Art Exhibit October 11, 2019

I'm pleased to announce my art show at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery in Washington D.C. The show is titled Sumoud w Todamon which means Steadfastness and Solidarity in Arabic.

Reception to meet the artist, Friday, October 11 6:00—8:00 p.m.

Exhibition Dates:  October 11—November 1, 2019

2425 Virginia Ave NW | Washington, DC 20037 | +1-202-338-1958

For more info visit https://www.thejerusalemfund.org/26162/october-11-november-1-2019-sumoud-paintings-by-katie-miranda

One of the paintings in the exhibit will be my version of a Pietà. Pietà means "pity" or "compassion" in Italian and it describes the Christian theme of artworks depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus. The most famous Pietà is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo.

In 2004 I had and idea in my head to paint a Pietà on the apartheid wall and fortunately I was able to realize that dream. Unfortunately the mural was spray painted over with lots of graffiti and I've wanted to redo it ever since and was particularly motivated by the tragic loss of precious lives from the Great March of Return. One feels very helpless on the other side of the world, watching people being massacred for participating in demonstrations that, where we live, would not be met by such lethal means. Those of us living in liberal democracies should never take for granted the hard won freedoms we have. 

While painting Mary’s scarf I couldn’t help but think of western society’s obsession with Muslim women’s hijab, and at the same time, western art is full of images of Mary with her hair covered and no one bats an eye. But in western society, a woman covering her hair can be the subject of pity, ridicule, contempt and, as in France, legislation against her hijab. Yet all the great religious art of Europe for millennia depicts women with their hair covered.

If you're in the D.C. area I'd love to see you at the reception on October 11, 2019.