Half the Sky art exhibition

"Presence," a sculpture by artist Jiang Jie. Photo by Holly Tomren.

“This diverse display is a brilliant ‘first.’ A must-see.” – Philadelphia Inquirer

Only one month remains for visitors to experience the historic exhibition of contemporary Chinese women artists, Half the Sky: Women in the New Art of China, which will be on display at Drexel University through Saturday, November 12, 2011.

Co-curated by the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) and the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University, this survey-scale exhibition is the first of its kind in the United States.  More than 60 pieces of artwork by 22 women artists, including photography, sculpture, video, painting and installation, are on display. 

The exhibition is free and open to the public, Tuesdays – Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m at the new Leonard Pearlstein Gallery (3401 Filbert St). For more information, visit www.westaphal.drexel.edu/halfthesky.

It has been decades since Mao Zedong set communist ideology by proclaiming that women “hold up half the sky,” and yet Chinese women artists have yet to receive the attention they deserve on the world stage.  Half the Sky attempts to redress this situation by representing a cross-section of gifted women artists currently working in China and across the Chinese diaspora.

About the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design:
Drexel University’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design offers sixteen undergraduate and five graduate programs in media, design and the performing arts. Programs are taught in small studio settings, featuring hands-on learning and an award-winning faculty of industry practitioners who emphasize the use of the latest technologies. Westphal College is home to the Mandell Theater, the Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel’s television (DUTV) and radio (WKDU 91.7 FM) stations, the Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies, MAD Dragon Records and Drexel’s Historic Costume Collection.  Allen Sabinson is the dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. For more information about the College, go to: www.drexel.edu/westphal.