In conjunction with Women’s History Month, the MU Craft Studio is showcasing artwork from Missouri women. The 18th Annual Women in the Arts Gallery Show features a range of art — from mixed media to fibers pieces.

“We do this to allow women artists to have a voice and a space to exhibit their work,” Craft Studio Coordinator Kelsey Hammond said. “Traditionally in our history, women have not been given the same amount of space as men have.”

Hammond said artwork is good way to express oneself.

“My experience and my voice come out through my art and that is how I talk about my life,” Hammond said.

Every year, the Craft Studio selects an artist to be a juror, Hammond said. The juror chooses pieces she likes and thinks fits with the selected artwork.

Patti Shanks, an artist and a part-time faculty member in the art department, is this year’s juror.

“Being the juror for this show is fun and I feel like it supports the arts community at large here in Columbia,” Shanks said.

Shanks said the show is about being a part of MU. It is an opportunity for women artists working in the community to display their work and be known as an artist.

“It is important to support the show both as an artist and as a viewer, and as an MU colleague, either a student or a faculty member,” Shanks said.

Shanks said the show aims to have good mix of representation of all working artists in the state: the professional artists and also women who are on their way to becoming professionals.

When choosing artwork for the show, Shanks said she wants the women artists to be professional and pay attention to details in the quality of their work.

“Should I look for artists having great messages related to women?” Shanks said. “Not really, because women are just artists in the end. They have the same experiences as we all do.”

The color print “Incident on the Wisconsin River” by Emeritus Professor Brooke Cameron depicts a dramatic moment in her life. Cameron said the idea for the piece came from an old photograph her cousin sent to her. The photograph depicts a time when her cousin, her brother and she were almost swept down the river and jumped off their raft to swim.

The Craft Studio also displays senior art student Aislinn Noltie’s artwork titled “envy.”

“That piece came from a set of seven large tapestry weavings that describe the seven deadly sins,” Noltie said. “Each sin has a color associated with it.”

Noltie said not very many women artists are recognized, particularly in fibers.

“The medium I worked with isn’t very common, so it is nice to have a show specifically for women to show what we could do,” Noltie said.