![\"painting](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/her-voice-carries-1.jpg\")
![\"painting](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/her-voice-carries-2.jpg\")
![\"painting](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/her-voice-carries-3.jpg\")
![\"painting](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/her-voice-carries-4.jpg\")
![\"painting](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/her-voice-carries-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The women depicted in Rutherford\u2019s murals are involved in a range of community issues:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Trelawney McCoy<\/strong> works as a project counselor at the University, supporting young mothers as they work toward independence. She is an adoptive, foster, and biological mother of nine children. Her mural is in the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood, in the city\u2019s Northeast Quadrant.<\/p>\n \u2022 Rachel McKibbens<\/strong> is a poet and activist for mental health awareness and gender equality. She also advocates for victims of domestic abuse and violence. McKibbens founded the Pink Door Writing Retreat for women writers of color. Her mural is at Planned Parenthood in Rochester\u2019s Northwest Quadrant.<\/p>\n \u2022 Imani Olear<\/strong> is the pastor of Reformation Church and the founder of Yoga for a Good Hood, which brings yoga and meditation to people who otherwise would not have access to it. The Charles Settlement House in Center City is home to her mural.<\/p>\n \u2022 Safi Osman<\/strong> is a founding member of Refugees Helping Refugees. Born in Somali, Osman has lived in the U.S. for two decades. She\u2019s known as \u201cMomma Safi\u201d by newly arrived refugees, and she teaches them sewing skills, acts as an emergency translator, and provides transportation to those in need. Her mural is at the Southwest Quadrant\u2019s Reformation Lutheran Church.<\/p>\n \u2022 KaeLyn Rich<\/strong> is a queer feminist, direct action organizer, writer, and sexuality educator who is an assistant advocacy director for the New York Civil Liberties Union and the cofounder and editor of \u201cQueer Family Matters.\u201d The location of her mural will be announced this spring.<\/p>\n Rutherford says receiving the award is particularly gratifying because recognition of her art is also recognition for the work of the women. \u201cIt\u2019s a chain,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m the conduit for this project, not the only author.\u201d In addition to her collaboration with the women depicted, Rutherford is also carrying out the project with the aid of two young artist apprentices, Charisse Warnick and Maribel Hernandez, and a project assistant, Elizabeth Lenz.<\/p>\n \u201cSarah is more than just a terrific talent and mural painter, and her work goes beyond beautifying walls and places,\u201d says MAG director Binstock. \u201cThrough art she brings people together, she brings communities together, and for this she deserves extraordinary recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n Rutherford hopes to expand the project beyond Rochester, to highlight women\u2019s work for their communities in other cities, as well.<\/p>\n This spring, she is teaching Introduction to Painting and Advanced Painting for the University\u2019s studio art program. In the latter course, she\u2019s giving students a taste of mural painting.<\/p>\n The murals of \u201cHer Voice Carries\u201d range from large (70 by 20 feet) to immense: Olear\u2019s mural on the Charles Settlement House reaches five stories high. That kind of visibility is important, says Rutherford. Murals are \u201caccessible to all\u2014they\u2019re not based on someone owning the art.\u201d<\/p>\n And once completed\u2014a process that takes Rutherford from two to six weeks\u2014they become part of the urban landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cMurals work their way into the fabric of people\u2019s daily lives,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A tribute to five Rochester women who work to lift others\u2019 voices in the community, the \u201cHer Voice Carries\u201d art project has earned local artist Sarah C. Rutherford this year\u2019s Lillian Fairchild Memorial Award. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":752,"featured_media":307172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13092],"tags":[486,9436,29502,1656],"class_list":["post-306222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-arts","tag-awards","tag-community","tag-featured-post-side","tag-lillian-fairchild-award"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"artist](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/2015-Sarah-Rutherford-630x420.jpg\")