"purdahe -- middleaste-middleweste," line etching 22"x22" by Kore Loy Wildrekinde-McWhirter

Some 58 handmade prints created by women from around the world will be on view September 26-October 21 at UNC Asheville's S. Tucker Cooke Gallery. The show features limited edition fine art prints from two international women's print portfolio exchanges, "The Birth Project" and "Women's Work." The prints are on loan to the gallery from printmaker and exchange participant Kore Loy Wildrekinde-McWhirter. An opening reception will be held 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, in the gallery. Wildrekinde-McWhirter will give a brief gallery talk at 7 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Print portfolio exchanges are a common way for printmakers to share their craft. A group of artists, often 30 or more, create a print based on a theme and produce additional copies of the print for every artist in the group. When the exchange is completed, each participating artist makes an edition of their print. These collections can then be used for teaching and exhibition.

"Women's Work" was convened in 2004 and "The Birth Project" was convened in 2006. Yancey County printmaker Wildrekinde-McWhirter, who has studied printmaking at UNC Asheville, participated in both exchanges.

"The interpretation on the subject matter and the printmaking medium was up to each individual printmaker," said Wildrekinde-McWhirter. "These two print trade portfolios are on view around the world, and they are excellent teaching tools because of their great variety of printmaking techniques. Both collections are wonderful examples of the broad range of skills and interpretations each woman brought to the meaning of women's work or birth."

The exhibition includes prints made by women artists from around the world, from North and South America, Europe and Africa. The prints were created using a variety of techniques, including line etching, aquatint, lithography, collograph, woodcut, linocut and serigraph.

Located on the first floor of Owen Hall, the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery is free and open 9 a.m..- 6 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call UNC Asheville's Art Department at 828/251-6559.