CNY Branch's Arts Speaks Exhibition Opens in Celebration of the Branch's 95th Anniversary

Twenty members of the Central New York (CNY) Branch of the National League of American Pen Women – ten artists and ten writers – were invited by the Edgewood Art Gallery to exhibit their art and poetry inspired by art (ekphrastic) in the gallery from July 2-August 14, 2021. ART SPEAKS features the artists’ work and the writers’ ekphrastic poetry hung side-by-side to engage viewers and stimulate

reflections and conversations on creative mediums. Pen Women member Mary Raineri will be showing her mixed media jewelry, with invited ceramicist David Webster.

The “Art Speaks” exhibition is one of several events planned to celebrate the CNY Branch’s Ninety-Fifth Anniversary in 2021. The NLAPW, with eighty-seven branches across the country, encourages, recognizes, and promotes the creative work of professional standards in art, letters, music, and allied fields. The NLAPW was founded in 1897 when women journalists were not permitted to join the National Press Club and subsequently formed a professional women’s press union. The NLAPW is housed in Washington D.C. in the Pen Arts Building and Art Museum, a historic structure once occupied by Robert Todd Lincoln and his family.

The CNY Branch is one of the most active of the NLAPW branches, with three of its members holding national office, including First Vice President. A number of CNY Branch members have won local, regional, and national awards in either art or letters.

The ART SPEAKS exhibition will be open during normal business hours of the Edgewood Gallery,

Tuesday - Friday, 9:30 am-6:00 pm; Saturday 10:00 am-2:00 pm. The Gallery is located at 216 Tecumseh Road in Syracuse, NY.

Linda Bigness' art is shown here in the photo.