On March 26, Colorado State University’s Morgan Library and Visual Arts building hosted a joint opening reception for the “Knowing Her: Women’s Work & Leadership at CSU, 1925-2025” exhibit. The exhibition aims to explore and raise the voices, stories and experiences of women and nonbinary people on CSU’s campus from 1925 to the present year.

Sculpture Professor Suzanne Faris and English Professor Tobi Jacobi collaborated to create this exhibition.

“We brought our different perspectives together to envision ways to present experiences shared by participants and historical narratives on work at CSU,” Jacobi wrote in an email.

Through combining the knowledge and expertise of two different subjects, Faris and Jacobi presented the voices and lived experiences of women on campus.

Next to Morgan’s Grind, the Morgan Library portion of “Knowing Her” hosts a variety of artistic mediums. A bookshelf highlights women authors from CSU, including works like, “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, “Standing in the Need: Culture, Comfort and Coming Home after Katrina,” by Katherine E. Browne and “Television at Work: Industrial Media and American Labor,” by Kit Hughes.

A piece titled, “The Weight of Our Work,” takes written information from and about women on campus and displays the weight of those responses. There are also interactive pieces that asks visitors to voice their own opinions.

“We want to enhance the work of women at CSU but also make sure that people have a space, a little stage for their opinion on what they see, what they read.” -Silvia Minguzzi, CSU Libraries designer and exhibition coordinator

One very unique aspect of the opening reception in the gallery revolves around a piece entitled, “Ten Changemakers: A Fraction of Notable CSU Women.” The event offered snacks related to two of these women. In honor of Inga Allison, a home economics professor and department head who pioneered the study of altitude cooking, the gallery has a display of her Fort Collins brownies recipe. Apples were offered as a nod toward Miriam Palmer’s wax apples. Palmer was an entomologist, horticulturist and scientific illustrator. Many of these women pioneers are still remembered today in the form of buildings, like Corbett Hall and the Palmer Center.

“Knowing Her” is a two-part exhibition project. The second exhibition is housed in the Visual Arts building, where the second half of the opening reception took place.

Inside of the Visual Arts building’s Directions Gallery, there are a few overlapping art pieces, such as the “Ten Changemakers” and “She Is.” However, one of which is an interactive installation, Effort Distribution, which enables viewers to rearrange pie charts to better reflect their own experiences and efforts.

The opening reception was attended by CSU faculty, staff, students and other viewers who were intrigued by the exhibit, enraptured by the varied experiences and voices of women and nonbinary people on campus. By having two different locations, “Knowing Her” is easily accessible to students and more stories are able to be shared.

“Knowing Her” is first and foremost focused on community. By collaborating with multiple departments and classes, voices from all over CSU were able to be heard. This exhibition highlights the struggles and voices of women all over campus through beautiful and engaging art. Being able to both experience and partake in this exhibition creates a more engaging and personal experience.

The exhibition amplifies the voices of people on campus, and the Morgan Library promotes these ideas.

“We want to enhance the work of women at CSU but also make sure that people have a space, a little stage for their opinion on what they see, what they read,” said Silvia Minguzzi, CSU Libraries designer and exhibition coordinator.

Jacobi and Faris recommend that people take their time in these exhibits.

“We recognize the complexity of the experiences represented in this exhibition, and we hope that the conversations that may result recognize that complexity,” Faris and Jacobi wrote.

“Knowing Her: Women’s Work & Leadership at CSU, 1925-2025” will be displayed in the Directions Gallery until April 18 and the Morgan Library’s small-scale exhibit until Aug. 15, free and open to the public for viewing.

Reach Audrey Weishaar at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.