WEST HOLLYWOOD—The City of West Hollywood, through WeHo Arts presents “AWAKEN: the female voice”, an art exhibition of multimedia works by women exploring the transformation of females during the first half of their life. The show will run from Thursday, April 21 through Monday, June 27 at the Plummer Park Community Center located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard in Art Room 1.

The exhibit was curated by Australian-born fine art and celebrity photographer, Brooke Mason, and the pieces highlight the innocence, liberty and freedom of expression one has as a child and others examine the challenges of becoming an adult. Artists that will be featured in the exhibit include: Fatemeh Burnes, Lola Del Fresno, Diane Holland, Julienne Johnson, Camella DaEun Kim, Nicole Landau, Feng Ling, Brooke Mason, and Mei Xian Qiu.

“The exhibit is all local female artists. I’m passionate about highlighting artists in particular women who have strong conviction, who are empowered and who are striving to break free of confines placed on them. I chose work that is not only beautiful but conveys strength comparative to the artist,” Mason told Canyon News in an email.

“When a girl is young she doesn’t understand boundaries or social parameters put on her. She is running free. Her rude awakening begins somewhere between the ages of 10 and 15 years. She starts to sense these restrictions; she questions her role in her environment. She chooses either to fight them and deal continuously with conflict or to conform to them, to comply, an easier route… until she is old enough to rebel against them seriously. As artists we strive to highlight these struggles,” said artist Mei Xian Qiu in a post on her Facebook page discussing the exhibit.

Mason’s photography has been featured on the covers and editorial pages of fashion and lifestyle magazines and her solo exhibit “La Haute Main” was Art Week LA’s “Pick of the Week”. She has curated another exhibit called “Women Manifest: At The Core” that is on display at the WeHo Arts Exhibition Space at the West Hollywood Library. The location is 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard and the exhibit will run through June 27.

The “AWAKEN: the female voice” exhibit is free and open to the public. A reception will be held on Thursday, April 21 from 6-8 p.m. at the Plummer Park Community Center. For more information on this exhibit and other art exhibits visit www.weho.org/residents/arts-and-culture or contact Mike Che at (323) 848-6377 or at mche@weho.org. For people who are deaf or hearing impaired call TTY (323) 848-6496.