Hera Gallery Oral History Project

University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2008

Collection Overview

Title:	Hera Gallery Oral History Project
Date range:	1988
Creator:	Quinney, Valerie
Extent:	2 box(es) (1 linear feet)
Abstract:	The collection consists of taped interviews with twenty women who were either founding members of the Hera Gallery or who became involved with the gallery in later years. The collection also includes an interview with Robert Rohm, an art professor from the Art Department of the University of Rhode Island and Roy Poulsen, an University of Rhode Island economics professor and owner of the Hera gallery building from the early 1970s up to the time of his death in 2006.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 64

Scope & content

The interviews in this collection represent not only the recollections about the Hera Gallery, but also a personal history of the feminist movement among women artists in the South County of Rhode Island during the 1970s and 80s.

Each audiocassette tape is accompanied by release forms and an abbreviated transcript that also provides a general topic overview of the interview, a biographical sketch of the interviewee, and interviewer’s comments.

Arrangement

After processing, the records were organized into one series as follows:

• 1. Interviews

Historical Information

The Hera Oral History Project was spearheaded by Dr. Valerie Quinney of the History Department of the University of Rhode Island in the summer of 1988.

The Hera Gallery was founded in 1974 in Wakefield, Rhode Island as a small non-profit arts organization to serve as a venue for women artists, who were often under-represented at the time in commercial galleries. The founding of the gallery in the early mid-1970s, however, was also viewed as a political statement that reflected the feminist social movement of the time. Even the name, Hera, which comes from the Greek, refers to a wife who makes things uncomfortable, can be seen as a reflection of the feminist movement among the woman artists of South County.

For the founding members of the Hera Gallery, however, the gallery was meant to be a safe place to gather and create art. The difficulty women artists faced when searching for a sponsoring gallery, the lack of training in commercial art for women, and their treatment in the art world contributed to the feeling among women artists living in South County that they needed a cooperative art gallery in which to display their work. The gallery also served as a place where its members could engage in conscious-raising as a group, organize poetry readings and conduct classes in different art forms, such as printmaking.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Hera Gallery Oral History Project, Mss. Gr. 64, University of Rhode Island Special Collections, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The collection was transferred by Valerie Quinney of the University of Rhode Island History Department on October 10, 1988.
Custodial history:	The collection was previously held by Valerie Quinney.
Processing information:	The collection was processed by Kevin J. Logan in 1988.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Russell Franks.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Nicholas Albaugh on 2008 May 21, updated by Hailie D. Posey on 2009 September 15, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 May 7.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory