UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — “Squeeze Me In,” an exhibition featuring artworks created by Beatrice Opokua Atencah, John M. Anderson assistant teaching professor of art in the College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Visual Arts, is on display at the Woskob Family Gallery, located at 146 S. Allen Street in downtown State College, and will be on view until May 2, 2026.
The exhibition explores how identity is rediscovered and transformed through clothing by combining craft processes — dyeing, sewing and beading — with spatial considerations and the complex history of corsetry as frameworks for examining acceptance and belonging.
Through material exploration and the absence of the feminine body, Atencah represents restriction, boundaries and encaging using both hard and soft materials, drawing on her background in fashion design.
The pieces in the exhibition incorporate Rigilene, a flexible plastic boning commonly used in corsets, and glass beads to reveal how foreign bodies adapt and fit into established systems. Each sculpted textile incorporates glass beads in matching colors, suggesting the tension between blending into foreign environments and maintaining distinct identity.
The beads are sewn in a liminal space between the boning channels, with varying densities and some emerging on the surface, creating a visual narrative about origin and patterns of human migration.
“Seeing the corset bones look this flexible from the high ceiling space reminds me of freedom attained after bondage,” Atencah said in an artist’s statement.
Opening reception, weaving workshop
An opening reception is scheduled for April 3 at 6 p.m. and will feature a Q&A with Atencah moderated by Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, professor of Spanish and African studies at Penn State Altoona.
Atencah will host a weaving workshop titled “Twining Coasters” on May 1 at 6 p.m., during which participants will learn and apply basic weaving skills.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Classes, student organizations and university offices are encouraged to visit the Woskob Family Gallery, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture. Inquiries can be directed to woskob@psu.edu. For more information on this and other exhibitions, visit the gallery’s website. Keep up to date with the Woskob Family Gallery by signing up for its Listserv or following on Instagram @woskobfamilygallery.