August 8 - August 29 at The Doubting Thomas Gallery
Hello Female Artist! You are cordially invited to participate in the Rust Belt Photo Collective's upcoming August exhibition at Doubting Thomas Gallery, "Women: 50 Over/Under." June Hund (the collective's founder) and I felt a need to get local female photographers' voices heard and images seen. The rationale for this exhibit is to address the fact that women have expressed their concerns over their lack of visibility in the artistic community. This show will give younger and older women the ability to collaborate. Younger women have spoken out that they do not feel validated, while women over 50 revealed that they feel invisible at times.
The exhibition will embrace individual creative expression, explore self-identity, and provide female empowerment. It also gives participants the opportunity to join forces with someone new in a creative way. The women will be randomly matched and then 1) be photographed by a woman in the opposite group and 2) photograph a woman in the opposite group. We aim to include 25 women under 50 and 25 women 50 and over. The portraits you all take must be black & white, but it is up to your creative discretion and using the camera/device of your choice. We intend to print the photographs consistently (11x14) and they will be hung unframed with magnets to save costs. Although the exhibit has no entrance fee, we kindly request a $15 donation to help offset printing fees and gallery expenses. The artists will receive the portrait created by their collaborator at the end of the exhibition, and are responsible for any sales of their work (there is no commission).
This show is organized by the Rust Belt Photo Collective, and we are extending the opportunity for female photographers to be involved in this project. Hopefully, you are a member of the RBPC!
Please let us know by May 15th of your interest, as we need to move this forward. We will let you know of upcoming information and a meeting to randomly select your partner(s). Also, if you would like to participate, please let us know if you fall in the 50 and over group or the under 50 group (as we wish to be considerate, even if we already know the answer).
Thank you for your consideration and we hope to hear back from you soon.
contact: rbpc.art@gmail.com
You can visit the Canvas website to see coverage of the show
Women: 50 over/under Portrait Show schedule
Women 50 over / 50 under Portraits
doubting thomas Gallery 856 Jefferson Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113
Opening & reception: Friday, August 8, 2025, from 6:00pm-10:00pm
Timeline & Other information:
Drop off dates:
Tuesday, August 5, 2025, from 12:30pm-3:30pm
Wednesday, August 6, 2025, from 7:00pm-9:00pm
Hanging work:
Thursday, August 7, 2025, from 6:00pm-9:00pm
(As a participant in this group show, we need a few volunteers to help hang the work. Please email us to let me know if you can help.) rbpc.art@gmail.com
Opening:
Friday, August 8, 2025, from 6:00pm-10:00pm
Rust Belt Photo Collective meeting & photographers discussion:
Tuesday, August 19, 2025, from 7:00-9:00pm.
Brief 30-minute meeting. For the final hour and a half, we would be delighted if you could discuss your experiences working alongside a partner and reflect on your image (5-10 minutes).
As participants you are asked to contribute finger food and/or drink. There will be a signup sheet when you drop your image off.
Extra Gallery hours:
The doubting thomas Gallery is run by the participating artists. To have additional viewing hours, volunteers are needed to cover the extra dates (Saturday & Sunday’s) in the month of August. There will be a signup sheet in the Gallery when you drop off your image.
The photography swap with your partner:
Friday, September 5, from 6:00pm-8:00pm
Saturday, September 6, 10:00am-noon
Clean up: Saturday, September 6, starting at noon.