Artist Profile: Amanda Courtney

Amanda Courtney

Hometown: Boca Raton, Florida

Education: Art History, Photography

"I'm director of The Thomas P. Kelly Student Art Gallery on campus and am the organizer of the "Womynhouse" exhibition taking place this Fall. The idea for "Womynhouse" fully manifested itself in my brain one late night while I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep.  I had been assigned to design my dream exhibition for Dr. Willick's LA Now class and found myself conflicted on choosing contemporary LA artists when I was surrounded by so many talented friends and classmates.  At that time, we were also asking for submissions for the Student Art Gallery fall season so I think I always had that space in the back of my mind.  I thought, "Why can't I join the two forces?"

"When I first learned about the original Womanhouse project done in 1972, I felt a shared and inherent understanding of both wanting and needing a “room of one’s own” to tell a story.  A lecture from the Gorilla girls last fall also had a major influence on my own individual understanding of what feminism is today.  I was shocked to find that not all the women in the audience raised their hands when asked if they were feminists.  Art then naturally became the catalyst to explore my own frustrations and critiques of my fellow female generation.  Why doesn’t every woman consider herself a feminist? How has the word been damaged by older generations?"  

“Womynhouse” is an opportunity to share twelve unique stories with our student community by taking full advantage of the original Southern California feminist model: art collaborations evolving in education institutions.  We just want to be heard.  If I can change one female viewer to start considering herself a feminist then I will have done what I set out to do."  


For Womynhouse, Amanda is creating an installation exploring the concept: loss of innocence.