We are a group of eight Shanghai based women artists, Chinese and foreigners, who are organising an exhibition which will run from 27th February to mid –April next year. The theme of the exhibition is “women”: eight female artists showing through their works about their feelings and thoughts about their life as women.

The location of the exhibition will be the Hong Miao Art gallery, a large, high-ceilinged gallery situated right in the centre of Shanghai, replete with history and atmosphere.

Hong Miao was one of the major Taoist Temples of the Zhengyi Sect of Shanghai Taoism, built during the Ming Dynasty, when it was then called “Tinggou Temple”. During the Qing Dynasty, the inner and outer walls were painted purple according to Taoist tradition, and this was the origin of the name “Hong Miao” (meaning the red temple in Chinese). By the end of the Opium War, it had become one of the most frequented temples in Shanghai, due in part to its location along prosperous Nanjing Road. It was closed for a few decades before a well known local company, Shanghai Hailian Real Estate, restored it and turned it into an Art gallery, re-opening in 2006. The female Buddha, Guan Yin, widely revered among the Chinese population for her unconditional love, compassion and mercy, is still in the gallery, giving a special ambience to the place.

This exhibition is about 8 women artists’ personal perspectives on what it is like to be a woman.  We are all very different, from various backgrounds and cultures, and we use very different media in our artwork.  But we share one important quality; we are all women. In this exhibition we want to express our own reflections about the world around us from a women’s view.

In this spacious (600 square meters) and beautiful setting, the artworks of the eight  professional artists will be displayed for more than six weeks. This period will include a special date: “Women’s Day”, on 8th March, 2010, when the gallery will only be open to women visitors.  During that day, some special events will be organized, including a talk by an historian on the history of the temple, followed by free discussions with the artists and complimentary afternoon tea for everyone.  There will be tables set up in the gallery for the day and a raffle will be held for charity (Chuancheng Professional Training School of Pingwu County, which provides embroidery workshops to help women to increase their skills and earn income in the most affected areas of Sichuan Province following the earthquake).

The curator of the gallery: Holly Zhao, will organized the press release with various local and English newspapers and women’s magazines. The promotion of the event on Women’s Day will be a highlight.

We are now looking for sponsors to support this initiative and, specifically, to help to make the Women’s Day activities really memorable. We are confident that such an event will attract many women, foreigners and Chinese alike, who are interested in art but also who just want to spend time together talking in a peaceful and interesting place, perhaps after first shopping in Nanjing Lu, one of the busiest streets in Shanghai. Most female local staff will have their afternoon free on 8 March, so we are expecting a large number of visitors. The sponsorship we are seeking is simply for participating sponsors to donate gift products or vouchers for the raffle (Only one sponsor will be allowed for each main gift product category).  As well as supporting a good cause, this will also be a good opportunity for sponsors to reach a large female audience.

The most important sponsors will be included in the press release (with the approval of the magazine/newspaper), and all the sponsors will have their name and logo displayed in the gallery (using advertising material given to us by the sponsors).

Artists (participation confirmed): Ann Yen (Chinese), Barbara Edelstein (US), Chen Xiao Dan (Chinese), Christin Kalweit (Germany), Gao Qian (Chinese), Lige Ye (Chinese), Virginie Lerouge Knight (French).

Special Event: “Women’s Day” on 8th March 2010.