Sphere of Influence

Your copy of The Handmaid’s Tale has been gathering dust since college, and the last art show you attended wound up focusing on outdated still lifes. It’s official: You’re starving both your artistic side and your feminist ideals. All of that will change tonight when you attend the art event of the season: the second-annual Girls’ Club art show “Under the Influence.”

The title actually relates to free exchange of ideas and motifs — the cross-pollination of the art world, so to speak — and not paintings about giant doobage. Don’t let that dissuade you. Girls’ Club is known for delivering a fresh, female perspective on contemporary art, so its unveilings are considered not-to-be-missed affairs. This exhibit will feature a wide range of media broken down into bite-sized categories. The pieces include photos of female contortionists, folkloric narrative paintings, drawn abstractions, video installations, and modern crafting. Also, since you can’t keep good women tethered, the exhibit spans two locations in Broward County. Half will show at the Girls’ Club in Fort Lauderdale (117 NE Second St.), the other at the Hollywood Art and Culture Center (1560 Harrison St.).

Be the first to sneak a peek at the Fort Lauderdale gallery space tonight, and from 7 to 10 p.m, catch Jen Stark’s award-winning video Streaming Gradient. Then from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, see the other half of the exhibit revealed at Hollywood A & C. Tonight’s admission is free. Call 954-828-9151, or visit girlsclubcollection.org and artandculturecenter.org.
Oct. 22-April 30, 2008