I Am, I Am, I Am Exhibition Explores the Pitfalls of Traditional Femininity

PhotoNora Benjamin, Thirteen, 2022 inkjet print (Left); Arrietta van der Voort, Self-Portrait in Blue Dress, 2022, inkjet print (Right)
Columbia College Chicago’s C33 Gallery presents I Am, I Am, I Am, a two-person exhibition of work by Nora Benjamin and Arrietta van der Voort. Both photographers challenge gender roles and explore the internal experience of girlhood with their thought-provoking exhibit.

I Am, I Am, I Am brings together the work of Nora Benjamin and Arrietta van der Voort, two photographers interested in the trappings and pitfalls of traditional femininity and gender roles, and explores the internal experience of being a girl and young woman in relationship to these stereotypes. This exhibition contextualizes the work of Benjamin and van der Voort in relation to themes of womanhood and girlhood, fragmentation, and the struggle of forming self-identity in the context of strong cultural influences. I Am, I Am, I Am investigates the mania and exhaustion of self-discovery and “keeping up” as a girl and woman in a world full of high expectations and standards.


Nora Benjamin and Arrietta van der Voort:I Am, I Am, I Am March 7- April 3
C33 Gallery—Columbia College Chicago
33 E. Ida B. Wells Dr., First Floor, Chicago, IL 60605 Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

PROGRAMMING:
Thursday, March 14, 6 – 7 p.m.
Artist Talk


ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Nora Benjamin (b. 1999) is an experimental photographer and collagist based in Chicago. Nora explores themes associated with identity, hyper consumerism, and delirium in her practice. Her work is noted for her use of color, which she experiments with through various digital and analogous methods of colorization. The collages and photographs she creates combine both surrealistic and realistic motifs. In 2021, she graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta with a B.F.A. in Commercial Photography along with a minor in Advertising and Branding: Art Direction. Nora is enrolled in Columbia College Chicago’s Master of Fine Arts Photography program and will graduate in 2024.

Arrietta van der Voort (b. 1996) is a photographer based in Chicago, Illinois. Her work has been shown nationally in galleries and online platforms. In 2018, she graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Studio Art and Art History. Arrietta is currently an M.F.A. Photography candidate at Columbia College Chicago with an expected graduation date in May 2024.

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