The Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Women’s and Gender Studies Department present a regular schedule of art exhibitions in Lane Hall’s lobby, an intimate space, conducive to seeing, reflection, and study.
Exhibitions feature works in a variety of media, by artists from near and far who are united in their exploration of topical issues and themes that hold meaning for the study of women and gender. Exhibitions are selected through a nominations process and review committee of WGS and IRWG representatives. Nominations come from U-M faculty in an annual call.
Call for Nominations — Fall 2025
Nominate an Exhibit/Artist for the Lane Hall Exhibit Space
IRWG and The Women's and Gender Studies Department (WGS) invite nominations for an exhibit to be hosted in the Lane Hall Exhibit Space from August–December 2025. Proposed exhibits should be broadly related to issues of women and gender. The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, April 1, 11:59PM ET. Nominations for exhibits must come from University of Michigan faculty (all campuses).
Nominations will go to the Graduate Fellow for Exhibits, and a selection will be made by a committee of faculty and staff from WGS and IRWG for final approval by the Director of IRWG and the Chair of Women’s and Gender Studies.
To review specifics regarding the Lane Hall Exhibit Space, nomination/exhibit requirements, communication expectaion and more, please view this google doc.
Nominate Today!
Current Exhibit
Redefining the Crown
The Voices of Black Breast Cancer Survivors
January 21, 2025 to August 8, 2025
This winter, the Lane Hall Exhibit Space will feature a portraiture series titled Redefining the Crown showcasing the powerful stories of six Black breast cancer survivors. “Redefining the ‘crown’: Approaching chemotherapy‐induced alopecia among Black patients with breast cancer” started as a manuscript by University of Michigan (U-M) faculty Versha Pleasant M.D., MPH and Ava Purkiss Ph.D. that was published in Cancer, a scientific journal. It then metamorphosed into a photo essay project published in Medicine at Michigan that explored the breast cancer journeys of six Black women and their experiences with hair loss due to chemotherapy.
This exhibition examines the cultural and personal significance of hair within Black communities, particularly through the lens of breast cancer treatment and recovery. The term "crown" is deeply symbolic in Black culture, signifying beauty, strength, and identity. The featured photo essay by photographer Tafari Stevenson-Howard captures the intimate journeys of Ann Chatman, Tanisha Kennedy, Felecia McDaniel, Shantell Elaine McCoy, Tamara Lynn Myles, and Veleria Banks.
Through their narratives and portraits, the exhibit examines how these women have navigated the profound impact of hair loss caused by chemotherapy, inviting the audience to witness their stories with radical empathy. It explores the cultural pride and personal identity intricately tied to their hair, and how these elements are redefined amidst their battles with breast cancer.
Located on the first floor of Lane Hall (204 S. State Street), the Exhibit Space is free and open to the public, M-F, 9am-4pm.
U-M instructors can email LaneHallExhibits@umich.edu to request a group tour or schedule a class visit.
Image: Tanisha Kennedy is a mother, wife, and breast cancer survivor. She works at the University of Michigan Mott Hospital Surgical Center. She enjoys spending time with her family.
Past Exhibits
Rafael Neis: KIN: Us and Our Kinds
Anne Vettter: Love is Not the Last Room
September 17 - December 6, 2024
Neis’s exhibition, “KIN: Us and Our Kinds” assembles a menagerie of queer beings who dwell outside of normative gender and species categories. Vetter’s photography exhibition, “Love is Not the Last Room” is made in collaboration with the artist’s family—their parents, their brothers, and their partner.
My Gender States
January 23 - August 13, 2024
Conceived with text by Rogério M. Pinto
Design and construction of original sculptures in collaboration with Sarah Tanner. Photographs by Emerson Granillo, David Newton and Nicholas (Niki) Williams.
Sarah Buckius: !!!techn010ffspring!!!
August 15 - December 15, 2023
This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Watch the artist's talk in Lane Hall
Portraits of Feminism in Japan
An exhibit cosponsored by the Center for Japanese Studies, IRWG, and the Department of Women's & Gender Studies.
Featured artists: Elaine Cromie, JenClare B. Gawaran, Takatoshi Hayashi, ivokuma (いぼくま), Nami Kaneko (金子奈美), Kang Jungsook, Lisa Taka Miyagi, Nancy Nishihira (西平・ナンシー), and Shigeki Shibata (柴田滋紀). Curation team: Allison Alexy, Bradly Hammond, Grace Mahoney, and Alexandria Molinari.
January 12 - August 4, 2023
Visit the exhibit website
I have a crisis for you: Women Artists of Ukraine Respond to War
An exhibit curated by Grace Mahoney and Jessica Zychowicz, featuring work by Kinder Album, JT Blatty, Oksana Briukhovetska (MFA, Stamps School of Art and Design), Oksana Kazmina, Sonya Hukaylo, Svetlana Lavochkina, Kateryna Lisovenko, and Lyuba Yakimchuk.
August 25 – December 15, 2022
Visit the exhibit website
Invisible Women: Portraits of Aging in Ukraine
Photographs by Ashley Bigham, Assistant Professor at the Knowlton School of Architecture at the Ohio State University. Watercolors by Grace Mahoney, doctoral student in Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan.
April 28 – August 18, 2022
New York City’s Vanished Cafeterias
photography exhibit by Marcia Bricker Halperin
January 16 - December 1, 2020
Selections from "Whose Streets? Our Streets!": New York City, 1980-2000
photography exhibition was curated by Tamar W. Carroll, Meg Handler, Mike Kamber and Josh Meltzer with support from the Bronx Documentary Center and the Rochester Institute of Technology
September 3 - December 13, 2019
she was here, once
Multimedia exhibit by Nastassja E. Swift
January 9 - August 2, 2019
Maya Healers: A Thousand Dreams
Photography exhibit by Fran Antmann
September 4 - December 7, 2018
Labors of Love and Loss
Mixed media exhibit by Marianetta Porter & Lisa Olson
January 29 - July 13, 2018
Chicana Fotos
An exhibit of Chicana photography documenting the 1970s by Nancy de los Santos
October 6 - December 13, 2017
Moving Through the Centuries: The Empowerment of U-M Women Through Physical Activity
historical photography & archive exhibition
January 12 - June 30, 2017
Swallowed Whole: A Visual Journey Through Traumatic Injury and Recovery
Works by Heidi Kumao
photography & video exhibition
September 1 - December 20, 2016
Above Ground - 40 Moments of Transformation
photography exhibition of Young Feminist Activism in China
January 26 - July 1, 2016
Stories of Mothers Lost
The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood
August 10 - December 11, 2015