Sordoni Art Gallery

Spring Holiday Hours

The Sordoni Art Gallery will be closed for the spring holiday March 28 - 31.

A different kind of classroom.

Our Mission

The mission of the Sordoni Art Gallery is to encourage an appreciation of the arts and an understanding of its role in society through direct engagement with art. Our main focus is to present high-quality exhibitions, related programming, and publications in a wide range of media, topics, cultures and time periods.

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Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence

March 1 - May 10

Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence showcases a new form of bead art, the ndwango, developed by a community of women living and working together in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The six artists featured in the exhibition call their paintings in beads ndwangos, which translates as “cloth” or “rag.” The black fabric on which the Ubuhle women work is reminiscent of the Xhosa headscarves and skirts that many of them grew up wearing. By stretching this textile like a canvas, the artists transform the flat cloth into a contemporary art form colored with Czech glass beads. Using skills handed down through generations, and working in their own unique style “directly from the soul,” according to artist Ntombephi Ntobela, the women create abstract as well as figurative subjects for their ndwangos. Ubuhle means “beauty” in the Xhosa and Zulu languages and it describes the shimmering quality of light on glass that for the Xhosa people has a particular spiritual significance. From a distance, each panel seems to be formed from a continuous surface, but as each tiny individual bead catches the light, the viewer becomes aware of the meticulous skill that went into each work and the scale of ambition: a single panel can take more than 10 months to complete.

Featured Exhibitions & Upcoming Events

Future Exhibitions

With a facility that has the ability to be a traditional viewing space or a venue for experimental installations, there is always something interesting coming to the gallery.

View Our Future Exhibitions

Support & Volunteer

Are you looking for a way to become part of the art community? Join a family of supporters or share your passion for the arts with your community by volunteering.

Support the Gallery

About Sordoni Art Gallery

Learn more about how the gallery looks to engage in cross- and inter-disciplinary dialogue to support academic programming across the entire university.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GALLERY

About The Gallery

Contacts

Heather Sincavage

Associate Professor/Director Sordoni Art Gallery

heather.sincavage@wilkes.edu
(570) 408-3365

Melissa Carestia

Assistant Director

melissa.carestia@wilkes.edu


Hours

  • Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Saturday-Sunday: 12 - 5 p.m.
  • Monday & University Holidays: Closed

Holiday Hours

  • Closed:
    • March 28-31

Location

Karambelas Media & Communication Center
141 S. Main St.
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701

Free visitor parking is available.


Arts in Education Northeast PA
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

All Sordoni Art Gallery exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.

Wilkes University is an equal opportunity institution. For more information, please consult our nondiscrimination policy statement.

Patrons requesting accommodations or services at Wilkes University or university-sponsored events in accordance with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III: Public Accommodations are asked to contact University Events.

It is recommended that requests be made at least five (5) business days prior to any event.

University Events