Illustration student’s show honors women’s history

March is Women’s History Month and Columbus College of Art & Design student Panagiota Kourniotis (Illustration, 2022) has devised a fitting exhibition for the moment: Lasting Legacies. This show, which features a range of 2D work, including mixed-media pieces incorporating resin, woodcut, found objects, and more, highlights work by women, about women throughout history.

In addition to Kourniotis, artists featured in the show include: Mandi Caskey, Kayla Freeman-Haynes (Illustration, 2022), Comics & Narrative Practice and Illustration Associate Professor Emi Gennis, Erin Hogarty (Illustration, 2022), Sarah Hout (Illustration, 2004), Clara Jenkins (Illustration, 2022), Lisa McLymont, Illustration Adjunct Faculty Evangelia Philippidis (Illustration, 2009), April Sunami, Liz Morrison (Master of Fine Arts, 2013), Zoe Stark (Illustration, 2022), Lydia Stutzman (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2012), and Melodie Thompson.

Lasting Legacies is on view Monday, March 1–Saturday, April 3, 2021 at Blockfort Gallery and Studios, 162 N. 6th St. Appointments to see the show can be made by emailing info@blockfortcolumbus.com or by calling 617.887.7162. Walk-ups are welcome from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. More information on Lasting Legacies can be found on Blockfort’s website and on Facebook.

Kourniotis recently answered a few of our questions about Lasting Legacies, what she’s learned at CCAD, and what’s up next.

How did you connect with and select the artists whose work appears in the show?
We wanted to feature local artists and artists with a connection to Columbus--those already known in Columbus along with emerging artists. Each artist’s previous work was reviewed. Some were already exploring the theme that is featured in Lasting Legacies.

Are all of the pieces in Lasting Legacies created by people who identify as women, about people who identify as women?
Those who are participating do identify as women, as do those portrayed within the art in the show. Every piece depicts a woman from history. Lasting Legacies is built around celebrating the voices of women who had to break through boundaries in order to share their thoughts and ideas. … Each artist chose someone whose story spoke to them. For example, April Sunami created a piece about Ida B. Wells, Emi Gennis illustrated Annie Diggs, Evangelia Philippidis focused on Boudica, Lisa McLymont portrayed Octavia E. Butler, Mandi Caskey did Marina Abramovic, and Melodie Thompson showed Rita Dove.

You both curated this show and have work in it. Can you talk about your work in the show?
I chose to depict the Ancient Greek poet Anyte of Tegea. She is estimated to have been born around 340 to 320 BCE and hailed from the settlement of Tegea in ancient Arcadia in the Peloponnese. As a lyrical poet, she was often compared to Homer and was most known for her epigraphs. (Epigraphs are inscriptions that can be found on monuments and graves.) Within ancient Greece it was common for animals to have graves, and Anyte’s work was primarily in writing odes to these animals. My finished product is a mix of traditional and digital techniques and includes a limited-edition batch of prints.

Have you curated a show before? What did you learn from this process?
This is the first show I have curated and I hope to do more in the future. I have been involved with installation projects with other galleries, so I was familiar with that process. What I learned is that there is a lot of administrative work that goes into putting a show together. I hope the artists appreciated all the emails I sent them (some of which included Bernie memes).

How did things you’ve learned at CCAD or connections you’ve made at the college support your work on this project?
My instructors help me build confidence in my work and my abilities. This helped me enormously in being able to work on this type of project.

What do you hope viewers experience from this show?
I hope viewers will feel a connection to the women represented in the show. Also, I hope viewers will want to learn about other women in history.

What’s up next for you?
Graduation is the next big thing for me. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to continue working within curation and to also work in children’s book illustration/publishing. When the world is back to normal I’ll work on my travel goals and visit all the museums I can.