Sr. Jo-Ann Iannotti Speaks at Art Exhibition This Week

Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP

Published author, photographer, and Dominican Sister of Hope Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP, debuted her exhibition, Intimate Spirits: Photography and Poetry in Conversation at the Clare Gallery in Hartford, CT in January, but her reception at which she will discuss the event is this Thursday.

The exhibition displays both poetry and photography in concert accenting the power of word and image. Sister Jo-Ann wants viewers to think about conversations one has with her artwork —photography and poetry— and to allow for transformation. She hopes viewers will “make room for the words and images. Listen to them. Approach them from a distance and then draw closer.”

These conversations do not have to be demanding, rather they can be silent, unscripted, non-judgmental and not sitting on either side of right or wrong. These conversations provide an invitation for the unexpected to happen.

This exhibition, which is free and open to the public, extends from January 19–March 15, 2015. A reception will be held on this Thursday, March 5th, from 6:30–8:00 p.m., at which Sister Jo-Ann will discuss the intimacy that results from spending time with images and words and her various processes of creative expression.

samples of Sister Jo-Ann’s art

As a seasoned artist, Sister Jo-Ann is familiar with such transformation. After receiving her Bachelor’s of Education from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh and a Master’s Degree in Theology from Fordham University in Bronx, she was an elementary and secondary educator in New York and New Jersey. She then worked as a reporter and photographer for the Catholic Transcript. She has scripted programs for the Office of Radio and Television for the Archdiocese of Hartford and was the Director of Religious Education at St. Ann Parish in Avon, CT. Frequently, Sister Jo-Ann lectures on the 14^th Century English mystic, Julian of Norwich, as well as the inter-relationship between Art and Spirituality. She now serves as the Art and Spirituality Coordinator at Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center in Litchfield, CT. She authored Remember, Return, Rejoice: Journeying from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

The Clare Gallery is a not-for-profit professional exhibition gallery located in a contemporary Roman Catholic urban center in downtown Hartford, CT. Learn more about this exhibit on its site, www.spsact.org/clare2.

For more articles by or about Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, visit ophope.org/tag/joann-iannotti.