Arts and Entertainment

Presentation by ‘Mean Girls’ artists set for Oct. 9; photo gallery now online

Exhibit is part of anti-bullying efforts on campus

"Small Ghost (have I died)" by Barbara Schreiber Credit: Bill Woodard / Penn State. Creative Commons

A presentation by artists of the “Mean Girls” exhibit at Penn State New Kensington is slated for noon to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the campus’ Forum Theatre.

The artists’ talk, "Keep an Eye Out for ... Mean Girls" focuses on their works and the effects of bullying. Jill Larson, curator of the exhibit and a participating artist, facilitates the discussion. Campus students, faculty and staff are asked to wear orange as a show of support for the anti-bullying campaign.

“Mean Girls” is a traveling exhibition that examines the dynamics of bullying by females. The multi-media display of paintings, drawings and sculptures is a community engagement project in which 10 national artists address the impact of bullying on young women. Open discussions to create dialogue are a part of the exhibit. The multimedia display, which features paintings, drawings and sculptures by 10 artists, opened Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 31.

The campus has designated October as Bullying Awareness Month and will address issues regarding bullying and conflict resolution, and examine the issues from a fresh perspective. Bullying starts at an early age on the playground, moves to high school and on to college, and continues into the work place. Bullying between females takes many forms -- physical violence, verbal abuse and cyber-bullying. There are cellphone apps that were created for the specific purpose of bullying. Local school districts are encouraged to participate in the campus discussions.

A month-long series of activities complements the artists’ presentation. The featured event is a discussion, “Mediation and Victim/Offender Dialog Programs,” at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Art Gallery. The guest speakers are campus faculty members Jennifer Wood, associate professor of communications arts and sciences, and LaVarr McBride, instructor in administration of justice.

The presentation, talk and exhibit are free to the public. The New Kensington gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends. For more information, call 724-334-6032.

For more about the exhibit, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/45550.htm.

For photos of the exhibit, visit http://psnk.smugmug.com/.

Last Updated October 2, 2013

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