Sundaram Tagore Singapore presents the landmark exhibition To Be a Lady: An International Celebration of Women in the Arts. Curated by Jason Andrew, the exhibition brings together an international selection of historic, mid-career, and emerging women artists born over the last century. Striking artworks by celebrated masters including Shirley Goldfarb, Louise Nevelson, Alice Neel and Helen Frankenthaler are juxtaposed with international stars such as Ghada Amer, Zhang Hui,­­ Shirin Neshat and Yin Xiuzhen, setting the stage for a global exhibition designed to challenge and reshape the meaning of the word “lady.”

For much of the last hundred years, women have been at the forefront of social and political reform worldwide. Whether Western suffragettes or activists in the Arab Spring, women have played and continue to play pivotal roles in bringing about revolutionary change. Their art and activism pushes beyond ideological lines, re-shaping and redefining the world we live in. Their art has come to empower women in all fields of society, continuing to ignite debate about inequality, poverty and social exclusion.

Historically, the term “lady” was a polite title bestowed on women of high social class or status. This show offers a bold new look at what it means to be a lady, presenting works that rub up against conventions and challenge the notions of what it means to be “lady-like,” emphasizing the bold rather than the conformist.

Image: © 2013 Estate of Louise Nevelson/Artists Rights Society (ARS), courtesy Pace Gallery, New York