Speak Softly, curated by Rebecca Arp, opened on June 20, 2025 in the gallery of the Dream Clinic Project Space based out of Columbus, Ohio.
The group show featured the work of six. Artists who are creative mentors or inspirations to the Arp and includes professors, coworkers, and peers. The work exhibited includes a wide scope of inspiration, but when distilled relates to the importance of language, history, memory, and the current political moment.
The title, Speak Softly, references both Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to diplomacy, “Speak Softly and carry a big stick…”, as well as the ways in which artist speak in their work, which may contain layers of satire, abstractions, and subtlety. (Statement written by Rebecca Arp, curator and artist).
Exhibited artists include Jana Harper, Lila Meretzky, Alex Paik, Vesna Pavlovic’, Jerry Bedor Phillips, and Mel Ziegler.
