Lubeznik Center for the Arts Celebrates reopening with new exhibition “Well-Behaved Women” open house scheduled for July 3

Lubeznik Center for the Arts Celebrates reopening with new exhibition “Well-Behaved Women” open house scheduled for July 3

MICHIGAN CITY, IN - Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) will officially reopen to the public on July 3 with the exhibition Well-Behaved Women: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage after temporarily closing its doors on March 14 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

To help protect public safety and prevent crowds, LCA is launching the exhibition with an open house from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 3 instead of an unrestricted First Friday evening event. Admission remains free but timed tickets are required for entry. Tickets are now available on a first-come, first-serve basis online at wellbehavedwomen.eventbrite.com.

Well-Behaved Women includes artworks by 24 women artists and artists who identify as women, both living and historic, to mark the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women and men equal voting rights.

Adia, 2018 from the series Outcry by Whitney Bradshaw
Adia, 2018 from the series Outcry by Whitney Bradshaw

The artists address areas where women lack access or rights; express the emotions felt as a result of inequity; and challenge the conventional “male gaze,” where women are presented as objects rather than subjects. They elevate the subject matter of family and domesticity and reclaim mediums, such as embroidery, that have been slighted as “craft” and “women’s work.” Some draw strength from the spiritual power of their female ancestry.

From the engravings of Maria Sybilla Merian, the first woman to study insects scientifically, to four famous women of the Abstract Expressionist movement who reached ground-breaking status in a genre steeped in brute masculinity, this exhibition celebrates a variety of women’s voices that have led us to this moment in time. The exhibit is sponsored by The Michigan City Commission for Women, NIPSCO and the NiSource Charitable Foundation.

LCA has implemented several new safety measures, including capacity restrictions, advance online ticket purchases, mask and social distancing regulations and increased sanitizing and cleaning protocols. LCA’s staff, volunteers and all visitors will be required to wear face coverings during this initial reopening phase, with complimentary disposable masks and gloves provided upon request.

Going forward, LCA will be open to the public Wednesdays through Mondays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends, closed Tuesdays. LCA’s Gallery Shop, with hundreds of artisan-made pieces from whimsical to elegant at every price point, is also reopening during visitor hours.