UA alum Madison Grooters showcased her artwork at the Intercultural Diversity Center on Oct. 16.
Grooters graduated last May and now works at the University as a specialist for the sculpture foundry. During the showcase, Grooters gave a detailed presentation on her work and the inspiration behind it.
She brought three sculptures with her that were meant to represent gender identity. The pieces were stained glass welded together of different shades of blue, red and yellow. The pieces could be moved around to fit together but were stunning on their own. The light reflecting on the sculptures captured a fluid movement and the ability to mix the pieces together amplified her message of how gender doesn’t have to be stationary.
“My goal is just for people to be seen in it and have some sort of reaction to it, whatever that might be for them,” Grooters said. “Or for people outside of the gender binary, I hope that they can feel seen and feel a little bit of hope and community within this piece.”
Grooters said she believes people should try their best to interact with art in any way because art can make you feel things, and everyone deserves to benefit from art.
Kerrigan Clark is a student engagement coordinator for the Women and Gender Resource Center, which hosted the event. She said that gender expression is a topic she knew about before the event but has continued to learn about people’s experiences and how they express themselves through art through this showcase.
“Being here in Alabama, this is something that a lot of people just aren’t exposed to, and UA students have an opportunity to learn about this and experience it,” Clark said.
After her presentation, Grooters encouraged people to ask questions and answered everything with care and passion. In prompt of a comment made about the difficulty of working with her medium, Grooters said that the toil of working with glass represented gender expression and the difficulty people face when being themselves.
Sylvia Glynn, a junior majoring in mathematics, said that through this event she was able to meet new people on campus and that it was wonderful to see gender expression through art.
“I think it’s good for people to look at a piece like this and have to actually think about how it can apply to them, or the people they know, or the world in general,” Glynn said.
Through work like Grooters’, the conversation on gender identity and sexuality opens up and allows people to feel seen and represented.
