The YWCA Westmoreland County will begin its Black History Month programming Saturday, with the opening of an exhibit of work by Greensburg artist Pamela Cooper.
The featured drawings, paintings and sculptures are a survey of her life as an artist and as a Black woman, Cooper said.
“They reflect work I’ve done over the years and are samples of what I can do as a multi-medium artist,” she said. “I wanted to do something that represents me and my contribution to Black History Month as an artist.”
Cooper’s award-winning work has been featured in shows at Greensburg and Latrobe art centers, Carnegie Museum of Art, University of Pittsburgh’s University Art Gallery and Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba in New York City.
She described the message conveyed by a drawing titled “A Brother in His Feelings” this way: “Here I am in my Black skin, but there’s more to me than what’s on the outside. I have to wrestle at times with how people perceive me from the outside.”
A free opening reception is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the YWCA Huff Mansion, 424 N. Main St., Greensburg. Cooper will speak about her work about 11 a.m.
The show will continue through Thursday, Feb. 9.
The Black History Month programs will encompass the organization’s mission of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion for all people, said Michele Steward, marketing diversity equity and inclusion director.
Among YWCA members are people of different sexual orientations and ethnic, cultural and national backgrounds, she said.
“In our house, it’s mostly all women, but we’re a very diverse group, a very international group, and everybody’s participating in this,” she said. “We’ve been promoting diversity and promoting women for a long period of time, so it’s time for us to break out.
“In the climate of the country, we’re ready to have open discussions and healing conversations to make this a safe place for everyone,” she added.
Other events on the YWCA’s Black History Month schedule are:
• Healthy Conversations: Embracing Diversity, 6:30-8:3o p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, — The interactive discussion will be led by Melissa Marks, professor of education at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Marks’ fields of expertise include social studies, multicultural education and diversity. She has written books on teaching about diversity and about talking to families about mental illness in children and adolescents.
• Galentine Glass Painting Party, 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, — Fee of $30 includes all materials. Attendees can bring their own beverages and snacks.
• Unique African Clothing, 6-8 p.m. Feb. 16 — Wilkinsburg clothing merchant Martin Bey will display and sell a variety of clothing items and accessories, including African laces and prints, kente cloth and dashikis. Bey and his team will provide information on traditional and ceremonial pieces that reflect national identities and status.
• Trinity at Art, 6-8 p.m. Feb. 23 — Trinity Thomas of McKeesport will demonstrate her sketching skills and talk about how art has empowered her as a young woman of color. The 16-year-old is a student at Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School in Wilmerding.
For more information or to register for any of the programs, call 724-834-9391 or visit ywcawestmoreland.org.
