Military and Veteran Services at Kennesaw State University has partnered with the Women’s Resource Center in unveiling a month-long art exhibit, “She Served,” March 1, to honor KSU’s women veterans.
“She Served” is an art exhibit open to the entire student body, faculty, staff and the extended family of KSU. The idea of the exhibit is not only to honor KSU’s women veterans but also the family members and loved ones of the KSU extended family. The exhibit is open to anyone who has attended KSU and wants to honor a female veteran.
The exhibit will be unveiled March 1 at 4 p.m. in the atrium of the Social Sciences building. There will be a small reception, inviting those who contributed photos. Guest speaker Maj. Gen. Maria Britt will also be in attendance.
Raeanna Duck, Military and Veteran Services coordinator, conceived the idea in August and teamed up with Shameka Wilson, Women’s Resource Center director, to help bring her vision to life. At the time, Duck was new to the MVS and wanted to find a way to partner with another department. Duck wanted something that would draw people in and speak for itself.
“Sometimes, it’s not necessarily forgotten, but it’s not in the forefront of your mind that women do it, too,” Duck said. “I just wanted to make an opportunity to get the recognition that’s deserved.”
The MVS and WRC asked the KSU extended family for photos of their loved ones, neighbors and any women who have served to be incorporated into the exhibit. The “She Served” exhibit will be a mosaic of photos submitted by 186 KSU extended family members.
Their vision of “She Served” is for people to observe the mosaic from afar and be drawn in to take a closer look. The larger image will be made up of smaller images of KSU extended family of women veterans.
“It’s going to hit you from more than one sense,” Duck said.
In addition to an array of pictures, there will also be audio to bring the pictures to life. Women who submitted pictures were asked to record memories from their time in service. By adding audio, Duck wanted to give the women in the pictures a voice.
During the months that submissions were coming in, Duck received a “thank you” from a Vietnam war veteran who never received one herself after coming home from war.
“I can’t thank you enough for doing this,” the woman said. “I never got told ‘thank you for what you’ve done.’”
For Duck, the most exciting part about working on the exhibit was the sheer appreciation of the people participating. The little “thank you” notes attached to pictures she received gave her all the motivation to continue.