Women 'expose' their art

More than 20 women, both Bloomington residents and IU students, will showcase their artwork at the third annual Women Exposed art exhibition and benefit from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday at the Art Hospital.\nIn the past, the event has been promoted primarily for its contributions to the Middle Way House and The Rise -- to which the rolling admission price of $5 to $10 goes. But this year's focus is on the artists and the community, said Stef Shuster, the benefit's organizer and contributor.\nThis is the first year Women Exposed will be at the Art Hospital, 1021 S. Walnut St., which she hopes will encourage more people to come, because it is a more open space than its former location.\nLive musicians, some of whom are women whose art will be on display, will entertain attendees and wine will be served. Shuster said she hopes to have more than 200 people there.\n"We almost reached that last year," she said.\nShe said while Women Exposed is a feminist-oriented event, everyone should feel welcome to attend.\n"I hope it is a safe space for people to go to whether they identify as a feminist or not," she said. "It helps women and children in the community."\nLaurel Leonetti, a graduate student contributing her artwork -- a variety of plants, ceramics, and paintings, among other forms -- to Women Exposed for the first time, said her art doesn't necessarily have a feminist message.\n"The same way all my mediums are different, all my messages are different," she said.\nFor one of her sculptures, Leonetti compiled objects -- such as driftwood and Styrofoam -- she found along the banks of the Ohio River to form the shape of a little person. Working with trash and thinking about "waste culture" sometimes inspires her art, she said.\nShuster will be contributing photographs to the exhibition. Whereas she usually shoots what she calls "street photography," including protest marches, she said what she presents Friday night will be a surprise.\n"You'll have to go to the event to check it," she said.\nThe work will be on display from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, since shuster acknowledged the Friday night opening conflicted with the PRIDE Film Festival.\nFor more information about the Art Hospital, visit its Web site at www.arthospital.net.