Page 58 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2017

Curator Lynn Orman Weiss proudly presents the exhibit at the National Blues
Museum, St. Louis Photo by Robin Subar

Blues Divas Dazzle in

“Women of the Blues –

A Coast to Coast Collection”

By Robin Zimmerman
This lineup really does have it all. There are dazzling blues Orman Weiss said, “It was remarkable. I actually was
divas and dynamic rising stars. Established legacy artists and standing there with photographers Peter Hurley and Jacki
acclaimed local acts. It offers people the chance to get up close Sackheim, and stayed there for over an hour, just watching it
and personal with over 80 of their favorite female musicians in over and over. It was so exciting to see them all there on the
a matter of minutes – all without queuing up for tickets to a blues jumbotron.”
festival. For Orman Weiss, her exhibit “is a labor of love. Each image
This assemblage of talent is part of a traveling photo exhibit is as unique as each blues woman. This show is exactly what the
entitled “Women of the Blues – A Coast to Coast Collection.” It has title says, featuring women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds on
been curated and brought to life by the indomitable Lynn Orman stages, in clubs and in venues around the world, representing all
Weiss. For this exhibit, Orman Weiss put together a “who’s who” styles of the blues. I want the audience to have a more thoughtful
of blues women, captured by more than 20 photographers from and inclusive attitude toward women musicians – to empower
every corner of the world. their thoughts, inspire conversation and generate new fans of
From old Polaroids of Koko Taylor to a colorful collection of women of the blues.”
second-generation blues women such as Shemekia Copeland, After wrapping up its preliminary leg of the tour, “Women of
Shirley King and Tomiko Dixon, these photographs exude the the Blues – A Coast to Coast Collection” added its blues power
passion, power and pure joy put forth by these performers. to the University of Chicago Hospital Skybridge. It then went
The exhibit opened to rave reviews at Chicago’s Firecat further south for a three-month showing at the new National
Gallery in May 2016. The timing coincided with the 33rd Annual Blues Museum in St. Louis, MO, beginning in January 2017. It
Chicago Blues Festival. This proved fortuitous because several was sponsored in part by Barbara Hammerman and Amanda
of the featured photographers from France, England and Gresham, the co-founders of United by Music North America,
other places were in town, as well as many of the “Women who are also both heavily involved in many blues-related
of the Blues” who were in the Windy City to perform at the organizations.
festival. Showcased subjects including Deitra Farr, Holle Thee Timing certainly seems to be everything where this exhibit
Maxwell and others were at the opening night gala, where they is concerned. Its run at the National Blues Museum coincided
were able to meet and greet attendees. with both Black History Month in February as well as Women’s
During its Chicago run, the exhibit also played to a much History Month in March.
bigger stage. The images of the blues women were splashed “Women of the Blues” was housed in the light-filled Scott
upon the jumbotron at the Chicago Blues Festival, which meant and Dianne McCuaig Gallery at this impressive museum
that legions of local and international music lovers were able to in downtown St. Louis. With a heavy focus on the history,
see larger-than-life shots of their favorite artists. people and places who helped shape the genre, the National

56 Blues Festival Guide 2017