Big Bend Gallery will host a new group exhibition celebrating Women’s History Month in March 2026, featuring women artists from across the region and beyond.
Titled “Take Up Space!”, the exhibition centers on women’s voices, creativity and connection, exploring how community, healing and empowerment are expressed through art. The show will run Feb. 26 through March 31, 2026, at the gallery in downtown Alpine.
According to organizers, the exhibition highlights the individual and collective strength women draw from one another, bringing together works that reflect lived experience, identity and shared resilience.
The exhibition is curated by Nyssa Mariah Barrick, who is also organizing a participatory group installation to accompany the show.
Group installation: “Connect*ivity”
Artists participating in Take Up Space! are invited to join “Connect*ivity,” a collaborative installation that will be displayed as a window showcase for the duration of the exhibition.
Each participating artist will be provided with a single length of rope, measuring between 4.5 and 6 feet, which will be wrapped in 1-foot sections. Each section represents a woman in the artist’s life and is wrapped using materials, colors and textures chosen to reflect an adjective or personal association with that individual.
Materials may include embroidery floss, twine, beads, foil, plastic, clay or other found or crafted elements. For example, a 4-foot rope would represent four women, each expressed through a distinct wrapped section.
Once completed, all ropes will be installed collectively in the gallery’s front window, forming a unified visual narrative of women’s connection stories.
Wrapped ropes must be returned by Feb. 24, 2026, with the artist’s name attached. Installation components are not for sale.
About the gallery
Big Bend Gallery is a project of the Big Bend Arts Council and was established following the closure of Gallery on the Square. The space operates in collaboration with CatchLight Art Gallery and is dedicated to fostering a vibrant arts community in the Big Bend region.
The gallery is located at 121 W. Holland Ave. in Alpine.
More information
Artists or community members with questions about the exhibition or installation may contact curator Nyssa Mariah Barrick at residuethoughtclay@yahoo.com or 432-294-4256.
Additional information about the gallery is available at bigbendartscouncil.org/big-bend-gallery.
