A unique exhibit launches on First Friday in November at the Cooperative Gallery in Binghamton. Artists Judy Salton, MaryRose present “Women as Voices for Change” which will run through Nov. 24th, 2018. Karissa Salton, their granddaughter, will be exhibiting her photo collages “Women as Forces of Nature.” There will be events throughout the show featuring the women represented in the portraits.

Judy and MaryRose are producing portraits of the women of the Binghamton
Speakers Bureau, part of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. “We were introduced to
these amazing women through Toastmasters and worked with them through the 2nd
Speakers Bureau class in Binghamton,” explained Salton who, with MaryRose, is active
in Toastmasters, a public speaking club.

The women honed their speaking skills to use their voices to “to educate… on
the root causes of hunger and shine a light on the often hidden crisis of hunger.” The
Food Bank of the Southern Tier’s Speakers Bureau builds leadership and public
speaking skills of people living in poverty and believe “people with lived experience
must be part of the discussions to build and sustain hunger-free communities”
according to their website.

Karissa Salton has a BA in Art and Design from Binghamton University, and uses
computer generated images to great effect. Judy Salton has a MA Printmaking and an
MFA in Painting and Art History from the University at Albany and has also painted
murals with the Dept. of Public Art. MaryRose has a BFA in Painting from Binghamton
University. Both were among the founding members of the Cooperative Gallery in 2000.