Artist Isabelle Thuy Pelaud.
Growing up, every girl dreams of her wedding day, her future husband, and having her own place. Now, the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) asks the question, “If you had a place of your own, what would it be?”, in A Place of Her Own, a showcase of works by 23 Asian American women artists from diverse backgrounds and generations, opening today at the SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco.
Artist Cynthia Tom, curator of A Place Of Her Own.
This project has been in the works for the past four years, spearheaded by Chinese American artists Cynthia Tom and Nancy Hom. The inspiration behind this project was to create installation art (as well as written word, paintings, printmaking, and more) that represented the experiences of the modern Asian American woman. It’s a space for women to finally express themselves, to put their own needs first, to “claim a place of their own, metaphorically or physically.”
Vivian Truong and Garden installation at Driftwood. Photo by Markus Storzer Mbitions Photography.
A Place of Her Own questions the boundaries in which the purposes of a room can serve, and transforms these rooms into a place where there are no limitations and imagination can run wild. The installations are very personal to the artist in that each artist was able to create and design a space where no rules apply but their own. Through this showcase, the artists allow for the viewers to see the world through their eyes, to step out of the outer world and into their world.
Susan Almazol's A Place of Her Own at the de Young 2009.
The Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) is a national non-profit arts organization dedicated to ensuring the visibility and documentation of Asian American women in the arts. Since 1989, AAWAA has been a resource for the arts and academic communities, working to further the recognition of Asian American women artists in the American Art landscape. For more information on AAWAA, please visit www.aawaa.net.
DETAILS
When: May 5-27, 2011
Where: SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street between 7th and 8th Street, San Francisco, CA
How: 415-722-4296, www.aplaceofherown.org
The following are some of Cynthia Tom’s artwork. For more, check out cynthiatom.com/.
All photos courtesy of AAWAA.
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