Reading Dick and Jane with Me
“Reading Dick and Jane with Me,” an exhibition by Clarissa Sligh, will open with a reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, in UNC Asheville’s Intercultural Gallery in Highsmith University Union.
Sligh also will present a talk, “Power, Privilege, Visibility,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 in the Highsmith University Union Grotto.
The Dick and Jane books, used to teach reading from the 1930s-1970s, presented an all-white (until 1965) and culturally homogeneous environment, which Sligh says made her feel as a young girl that her family “must be an aberration.” In Sligh’s exhibition, the children from her neighborhood, excluded from the Dick and Jane series, make their presence felt.
Sligh, who now lives and works in Asheville, describes herself as a storyteller who for more than 25 years has woven together the personal, political and historical in a variety of media.
Her images are in museum collections including those of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
Sligh’s exhibition at the Intercultural Gallery will remain on view through October 21, with gallery hours 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 12-6 p.m. Sundays. The exhibition, reception and artist’s talk are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Intercultural Gallery website or call (828) 251-6991.
