Women Forward Part 1

Special Guest Artists: Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Toshiko Takaezu
plus Yoko Ono's "Imagine Peace" Part 1: March 7 – April 12; Opening Sat. Mar. 7, 4–6 pm

Liz Surbeck Biddle, Lili Bita, Hildy Burns, Janet Fish, Regina Granne, Amy Greenfield, Samia Halaby, Gloria Kennedy, Donna Moran, Carmen Porfido, Carol Quint, Kunie Sugiura, Cynthia Winika

Part 2: April 25 – May 31; Opening Sat. Apr. 25, 4–6 pm

Nivi Alroy, Bahar Behbahani, Elle Burchill, Rodriguez Calero (RoCa), Fei Cui, Andrea Cukier, Irene Hardwicke Olivieri, Soojung Hyun, Elodie Lauten, Alexandra Limpert, Leonor Mendoza, Olek, Yupin Pramotepipop, Shan Shan Sheng, Kumi Yamashita

Curated by Yuko Nii

Catalog available, with essay by Robert C. Morgan
(Email wahcenter@earthlink.net to reserve your copy)

In producing this show, I hope to help wear down the continuing resistance to women's art. I find these questions to be interesting: First, what are the differences between the elder generation of artists who have gone through the 1960s or '70s Women's Lib period, and the younger generation after the 1980s who might not know much about the movements, having never experienced difficulty as women artists in their chosen career. Second, how do artists from different countries and minority groups feel about how the world views the ambitions and achievements of women artists?

With this in mind, I gathered over thirty women artists who have a variety of ages and cultural backgrounds, and who express their visions in diverse media. Some are already prominent international artists, inspirational mentors to many people, for whom I hold deep appreciation and respect. These are the "Special Guest Artists" and include Judy Chicago (white Ameri- can), Faith Ringgold (African American) and Toshiko Takaezu (Asian American). The rest are divided into those born in the first half of the Twentieth Century and who came of age during the Feminist Movement, and those born in the second half.

I asked the artists to write about their own personal experiences of prejudice, and how conscious they were about being a woman in expressing themselves in their art. I also asked about their involvement with women's activist movements and how gender affected their careers. Finally, I asked what they think the future holds for women in the arts. Some artists had ready answers, and some had never really considered the questions until I posed them.

The rich and colorful works in this exhibition of established and emerging women artists are jewels in the crown of our intellectual discussion of the merit of women's art in the context of our society. I believe that insight will bring change. Let us see what we can see and then..."Women Forward!"

Yuko Nii

Founder & Artistic Director, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center