Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art

April 15- 30, 2014, Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, Senyang, Liaoning Province, China

In March 2013, The International Caucus of the Women's Caucus for Art was invited by the Wei Er Shen,  President of LuXun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China to create an art-based cultural exchange and exhibition between artists and essayists juried through WCA and women artists curated in China. This will  be held at the LuXun Academy April 15-30, 2014.  In addition to the exhibiiton, Half the Sky: Intersections of Social Practice Art  will include a sixteen member delegation of selected WCA members, who will travel to Shenyang for the opening of this exhibition and to participate in 2-3 days of interactive events with the Chinese artists and students of the Academy.

The academy was interested in providing an opportunity for Chinese women artists to interact with artists from our organization, to learn more about feminist art history in the west and share their art with our artists.

Chan & Mann will be showing their work, Myths of Rape (2012), in this group exhibit and also traveling to the Luxun Academy of Fine Art as part of the selected delegation for the exchange.

For a full list of artist and more info. about the exhibit:
http://wcainternationalcaucus.weebly.com/electronic-press-kit-epk-half-the-sky-intersections-in-social-practice-art.html
 

Almost a half-century ago, Chairman Mao Zedong, who famously said “Women hold up half the sky,” believed women’s active participation in reform would solve China’s economic and societal challenges. More recently, women and men leaders across the world are calling for women’s voices to be heard in all decision making. The theme is now a movement, a documentary, a musical recording. Michelle Bachelet, head of UN Women, opened the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2013 conference by extolling the benefits of being 53% of the world’s population.  "Women do not need permission, they simply need to speak and act."

Artists were encouraged to interpret this theme broadly. What does it mean to be the majority of the world’s population? What must women do to hold up their “half”? How do women from different cultures interpret this responsibility, this call to action? How do we encourage and support each other through art?