Stonewall National Museum to Collaborate with Artist Ruth Crowe for National Women's Month Exhibit

The Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library in Fort Lauderdale (https://stonewall-museum.org/) presents its extensive Women's History Month collaboration with artist Ruth Crowe. The exhibit, entitled "The Journal Project," is a deeply-personal project inspired by Crowe's 72+ journals that she has been writing since 1979. The exhibit will be the crown jewel of this year's women's focused programming at the museum. Crowe's work aligns perfectly with the museum's goal of documenting and preserving the stories of LGBTQIA+ individuals across the United States.

"We are incredibly excited and fortunate to share Ruth's work and story this year for Women's History Month," said Robert Kesten, Executive Director , Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library. "Her experiences, creativity, and memories are powerful tales of past and present life for many in the LGBTQIA+ community, and this is an inspiration as we continue the fight for equality no matter how difficult the road may be," added Kesten.

Crowe's exhibit will launch March 15th, 2024 at the museum, and she will also conduct two journaling workshops on the 16th and 17th dedicated to inspiring attendees to create their own journals utilizing vintage photography and their own words.

"The Journal Project" has been a work-in-progress since 2022, which is when Crowe decided to truly look back at her journals and embrace her past pain after so many decades. Inspired by her myriad of emotions, she set out to create 30 deeply personal art pieces based on the most influential moments of her life. She hopes they can resonate with the experiences of others.

"We are more alike than different. But all our experiences and how we react to them are uniquely our own," said Crowe. "I was gay. Growing up when I did was challenging and made my story much different than the straight accepted norm of the day. With so much bigotry reasserting itself in the world right now, I hope we can all be aware of the issues that 'others face every day. Whether that 'other' is a different color, sexuality, gender, and so on."

The March 15 opening party starts at 6 p.m. in the Heller Gallery at the Stonewall National Museum, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Ft. Lauderdale. All are welcome to join the event.