Honoring and expressing what it means to be a woman looks different for each one of us. But for many women, connecting with our womanhood can be a challenging task, especially with the pressures and expectations of society and social norms weighing on us. Artist Cary Daly took it upon herself to take an introspective look at what being a woman means in her debut solo exhibition, Please Touch, after being awarded an Artist Support Grant by the Broward County Cultural Division.
“I’ve always been an artist. I started taking classes outside of high school at Carnegie Mellon University as a part of their pre-college art program, and then I went to art school and got my bachelor’s in art. But I’ve also spent my entire adult life raising my kids. So, this is the first chance I’ve had to really work on a full body of work. But it’s also given me a chance to reflect on who I am as a person and a woman outside of my role as a mom,” she says.
It was this journey of balancing the dual roles of mother and artist that inspired Daly to create the exhibition, which centers on themes such as femininity, identity, motherhood, aging, and the complex relationships women have with not only the people and world around them but with themselves. As they age, many women start to feel invisible, and the exhibit serves as a reminder that aging shouldn’t be seen as a negative thing, Daly notes.
“Being a woman in my 50s, it’s easy to feel a little bit lost, and I’m not alone. A lot of women my age talk about feeling invisible and irrelevant in this world. With this exhibition I wanted to remind myself and other women that it’s ok to be excited about the freedom we now have to explore our own wants and needs,” she says.
Along with exploring the personal and complex themes surrounding womanhood, the multidisciplinary artist also focused on creating pieces using what are typically considered “feminine” artistic mediums like quilting and sewing to reimagine how these mediums can be used non-traditionally, while connecting to femininity in a new way.
Many of the pieces she created are interactive and tactile installations meant to be touched by viewers and include soft sculptures, sewn installations, and layered mixed-media paintings. The interactive exhibition is meant to demonstrate the importance of making space for inclusivity and accessibility for visitors of all abilities in artistic spaces.
“There were a few reasons I wanted this exhibition to be interactive,” says Daly. “But one important reason was that I worked as an art teacher part-time for many years, and a lot of the communities I worked with included adults with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. So, I loved the idea of having an art exhibition where people of all abilities could engage with the art on more than one level.”
In fact, one of her pieces in the show was inspired by a past student. The mixed media work, Richard Says I’m Beautiful, serves as an homage to a student named Richard, who was blind and couldn’t see her face, but told Daly she was beautiful. The piece serves as a touching reminder that beauty isn’t always physical but can also be found within, she says.
It was also during the time that Daly began working on her exhibition that she was diagnosed with cancer. Her longtime friend and fellow artist, Kelcie McQuaid, curated the exhibition through her arts organization, ShangriLa Collective, and helped Daly through what was a difficult revelation that ultimately played a major role in the development of Please Touch.
“We had just started working on her show. Then we got this news and had to process all these emotions. It was challenging, but it made for an interesting shift in perspective. Initially, it was really about Cary reflecting on being a caregiver for so long and then finding herself in a position where finally she gets to make her own choices about her work moving forward, and making this beautiful body of work,” says McQuaid.
“I got to see Cary come out of surgery, and I’ve never seen a woman look so beautiful in my life. I watched her go through this journey and be so gracious and strong in miraculous ways, which is exactly what this show is all about, and I think her work reflects that beautifully.”
Now on the other side of her cancer diagnosis and treatment, Daly’s outlook looks good, and she is excited to go on to create more dynamic shows featuring her art that blends symbolic realism with whimsical elements. As viewers continue to experience Please Touch, Daly hopes that women will look at themselves in a new light.
“I hope that a lot of women will feel seen after they experience this exhibition,” says Daly. “I also hope that a lot of people will look at others differently. I hope they will look at the women in their lives with a little more depth and a little more understanding about where they are in their lives currently and what they’ve been through.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Please Touch Solo Exhibition by Cary Daly
WHERE: ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday. Through January 2, 2026.
TICKETS: Free
INFORMATION: (954) 462-8190 or information@artserve.org
