A few years ago, a few Oklahoma City women decided the metro needed a different art show venue "? one that showed work that wasn't recognized by the art community: "The Girlie Show."
"It's not all necessarily gallery material, but it's more than a craft show," said show organizer Dawn Harth. "We just looked around at all of our stuff, and things other girls were making that wouldn't fit into traditional art shows."
Harth said she and others "prayed" for a few hundred people to attend 2003's inaugural show at TAP Architecture, but when 800 visitors showed up, they knew they were on to something. Since then, "The Girlie Show" steadily has increased in size and attendance and is now held at the much bigger Oklahoma City Farmer's Public Market.
OFFERINGS
This year's show is a two-day event on Friday and Saturday, Harth said, and has more than double the artists of previous years. The show originally was restricted to female artists from Oklahoma, but was changed in 2006 to accept female artists from across the country.
Female musicians will take the stage while crowds take a look at:
" paintings,
" clothing,
" jewelry,
" furniture,
" sculptures and
" other non-traditional art.
Harth said that for many of the participants, "The Girlie Show" is their first art show ever.
"The show puts the label of 'artist' on girls that never would have put it on themselves, and really opened doors for girls that wouldn't have put themselves out there," she said.
"?Joe Wertz
