It’s an election year – and women’s issues have been high on the political agenda. Gain a new perspective on some of the most controversial topics of our time at The Personal is Political: The Transformative Power of Women’s Art, Oakton’s annual collaboration between the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Koehnline Museum of Art. Featuring more than 80 women artists from throughout Illinois and across the country, the juried exhibition opens Thursday, October 4, at the College’s Des Plaines campus, 1600 East Golf Road.

Ever since American feminist writer and activist Kate Millet coined the phrase “the personal is political” in her landmark 1970 work Sexual Politics, the words have continued to resonate in contemporary feminism. Oakton’s The Personal is Political: The Transformative Power of Women’s Art l exhibit will feature paintings, sculpture, and mixed media pieces that engage with and respond to the multiple meanings in Millet’s words.

Meet the artists at a free gala reception with refreshments, 5 – 8 p.m., on opening night.The Personal is Political: The Transformative Power of Women’s Art runs through Friday, October 26.

“The annual women’s juried art exhibition at the museum always proves to be one of our most popular shows,” said Koehnline Museum Curator Nathan Harpaz. “Last year’s exhibition attracted 3,000 viewers and we anticipate even more this year because the event coincides with national elections.”

The exhibition is made possible in part by generous grants from the Oakton Educational Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

The Koehnline Museum is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.