“Be Your Own” is the Center for Gender Equity’s signature art-ivism project. It presents opportunities for Lehigh students, faculty, and staff to express themselves artistically, to reflect on what art means for them, and to engage in the learning process. 

The success of “Be Your Own” is due in part to the generosity of Lehigh donors. Thanks to their support, the Lehigh community has had access to a variety of meaningful artistic experiences, including a special trip for the Center for Gender Equity’s student staff to the Lehigh University Art Gallery’s Crochet Coral Reef exhibit. They had a private tour of the exhibit and were able to conduct a meeting in the space afterward about what they learned. 

The experience left a big impact on students. They walked away feeling empowered and educated, now knowing more about how the project applied to issues within gender, art, and the environment. The CGE student staff is incredibly thankful for the experience. 

“Because of donor support, we were able to tour the Crochet Coral Reef art exhibit as a staff, which I can easily say was one of the highlights of my semester! Learning about the ways in which this art project unified thousands of women as well as how it raised awareness for the quickly deteriorating health of our coral reefs was a truly amazing experience for me,” says Dana Teach ’20, CGE student staff member.