LATROBE, PA—The Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery is slated to debut its latest exhibition, “Through the Mask: Conversations About Culture and Covid,” on Thursday, November 10.

The exhibit features a juried selection of work by an international group of artists responding to the historical, cultural and scientific uses and meanings of masks and the effects of masking in contemporary society. A parallel digital exhibit including podcasts, oral histories, and interactive activities will also be unveiled November 10. The McCarl Gallery exhibit and related activities are sponsored through a PA SHARP grant.

A public reception will be held on Thursday, November 10 from 4:00–6:00 p.m. in the McCarl Gallery, located on the lower level of the Fred M. Rogers Center. All are welcome. Reservations are not required.

As the most ubiquitous symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic, the face mask has proven a crucial motif for artists looking to discuss contemporary social life. Artwork included in Through the Mask explores experiences of wearing a mask, concealing or “masking” deep emotions and revealing or “unmasking” demands for social change.

The exhibit includes pieces by the following 20 artists working across the United States, Canada, and Europe: Jess Logozo of Long Pond; Sarah Simmons of Pittsburgh; Evan Rumble of Pittsburgh; Caroline McAuliffe of Brooklyn, New York; Brooke Ali of Toronto, Canada; Pawel Pacholec of Gdansk, Poland; Etai Rogers-Fett of Arlington, Virginia; Trisha Gupta of Burtonsville, Maryland; Angel Ashleigh of Tecumseh, Oklahoma; Amuri Morris of Richmond, Virginia; Lex Marie of Arlington, Virginia; Lisa Stock of New York, New York; Hannah Bowden of Cardiff, United Kingdom; Iryna Calinicenco of Chișinău, Moldova; Moe Wakai of Los Angeles, California; Jo-Ann Morgan of Surfside Beach, California; Heather Schulte of Boulder, Colorado; Andrea Finch of Chambersburg; Cindy Morris of Hockessin, Delaware; and Danielle Festa of Dover, New Hampshire.

Through the Mask: Conversations about Masks and Masking is a project of the Foster and Muriel McCarl Gallery, the Saint Vincent College Department of History and the Public History and Digital Humanities Programs, sponsored through a grant from PA SHARP. The SHARP Grant was provided as part of the National Endowment for the Arts response to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, designed to explore and support humanities scholarship following the COVID pandemic.

Visitors are invited to visit both the McCarl Gallery and Verostko Center for the Arts the evening of November 10 between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m.

As part of the evening, the Verostko Center is debuting its latest exhibition, “Native Narratives: Modern and Contemporary North American Indigenous Artists.” Artwork has principally been loaned by current members of Saint Vincent’s monastic community. Included among the works are sculptures by Jemez Pueblo and Cliff Fragua; figurative bronzes by famed-modernist Allan Capron Houser and his son, Philip Haozous; and piece of Mata Ortiz pottery by Gloria Hernandez. Whether discussing indigenous identities, addressing environmental degradation, or expanding the boundaries of abstraction, these artists articulate visions of a world that celebrates Native wisdom and experience.

Native Narratives will be on view through December 16, 2022. Hours for the Verostko Center are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. To learn more, contact the Verostko Center at verostkocenter@stvincent.edu.