CREATIVE CONNECT CORRIDOR
NOW DISPLAYING
Turtle Wisdom:
Personal, Political, Playful
by Betty LaDuke
On view September 30-February 15, 2026
The works of Betty LaDuke have many times graced the walls of the Waterloo Center for the Arts. This new body of work is 21 shaped, carved, and painted wood panels that are based on artist sketches drawn decades ago during travels in African, Latin American, and Asian countries. Spanning more than 75 years, her art is inspired by cultural diversity and reciprocity. The themes found in Turtle Wisdom speak to dreams, dreamers, expectations, love, hope, nostalgia, and resilience. She states that after the COVID pandemic, “Turtles became my symbolic storytellers, commenting on the events currently shaping our lives.”
LaDuke was the recipient of scholarships at the University of Denver, the Cleveland Art Institute, and the Instituto Allende, San Miguel, Mexico and received her Masters in Printmaking from California State University, Los Angeles. As a professor of art at Southern Oregon University (1964-1996), she initiated the class “Women and Art.” In addition to exhibiting on a national and international scale, she is the author of Compañeras: Women, Art and Social Change in Latin America and Women Artists: Multicultural Visions.
The exhibition is supplemented by major LaDuke paintings and prints from the WCA collection, including two massive canvases, African Spirit House and VooDoo Spirits.
OPENING RECEPTION & TURTLE TALK
Free Admission
THURS.
October 30
5:30-7:30pm
The works of Betty LaDuke have many times graced the walls of the Waterloo Center for the Arts. This new body of work is 21 shaped, carved, and painted wood panels that are based on artist sketches drawn decades ago during travels in African, Latin American, and Asian countries. The themes speak to dreams, dreamers, expectations, love, hope, nostalgia, and resilience. The exhibition is supplemented by major LaDuke paintings and prints from the WCA collection.