Traveling art exhibit at UMaine shares personal stories about abortion
The University of Maine in Orono debuted on Monday a traveling art exhibit that shares stories about abortion from more than a dozen people to promote conversation on the topic.
The exhibit features photographer Roslyn Banish’s series of 19 portraits and stories of people throughout the U.S. who received abortions or provided care as health care professionals.
The exhibit, “Focus on Abortion: Americans Share Their Stories,” coincides with a book by the same name, which features 62 portraits and stories of people who come from every corner of the country and represent diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. It was unveiled on Monday in the university’s Wilson Center for Spiritual Exploration and Multifaith Dialogue.
Both the exhibit and book are designed to spark conversation about abortion, which has become an increasingly polarizing, politicized and taboo subject in recent years, and break down the stigma surrounding abortion.
Sonja Birthisel, director of the Wilson Center, said the university welcomed the exhibit with the hope that it serves as a “launchpad for dialogue on a complex topic that intersects with faith for many people.”
“For me personally, the way the exhibit highlights stories of real people, in their full humanity, feels poignant,” Birthisel said.
The exhibit arrived in Maine as state Democrats are attempting to put a proposed amendment to the Maine constitution on the November ballot that, if approved by voters, would ensure Mainers have the right to access abortion care. Maine is one of many states in which lawmakers are working to secure reproductive rights for residents after the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion a federal right.
The exhibit has traveled to various community organizations since 2021 when Rice University’s Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality was the first to host it.
The exhibit, co-sponsored by the Wilson Center, the university’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program, Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights and SHARE: Sexual Health and Reproductive Education peer education program, will be on view through Feb. 23.
The university will hold an opening reception from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, as well as an interfaith luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8, and a dinner and dialogue session from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 15.
