“Women must be free to express their feelings, desires and hopes in a creative way...no woman must be forced to remain silent in the verbal or artistic expression of her views.” - Betty Friedan, on seeing the show
The third and final festival of women artists was held in Beijing, China, in the late summer of 1995. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, now considered a key global policy document for gender equality, was adopted at the UN Conference, and Hillary Clinton gave her famous “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” speech. Co-sponsored by the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), the Global Focus art festival built on the frameworks of Copenhagen and Nairobi and featured the work of women from around the world.
Some 880 artworks representing women from 27 countries were shown in Beijing, with smaller groups exhibited at the close of the festival. Specifically, a group was shown in Hairou; China, 53 American paintings hung at the Elite Gallery in Moscow; 200 works were placed at United States Department of Health and Human Services gallery; 300 were shown at Peace Museum, Detroit and finally, a series was shown at NMWA in the spring of 1996. The show, Look at the World Through Women’s Eyes, honored the work of the festival, as well as all the women who participated in it.
Exhibition pamphlet, Look at the World Through Women's Eyes
Application of Linda Ercole-Musso of Lima, Peru
As with the festivals in Copenhagen and Nairobi, the organizers reached out to existing women's art associations to invite their members to participate by submitting slides or postcards of art.
Letter from O'Donna Allsopp of Guyana to organizer Nancy Cusick
This letter from O'Donna Allsopp of Guyana describes how she became aware of the festival, as well as the art that she plans to submit, both for herself and on behalf of a number of other women.
O'Donna Allsopp, "Bad Woman Falls"
On the back of this postcard, Allsopp writes that “Folklore tells us that this is a meeting place for women of questionable repute. Prospectors go into the interior of Guyana to seek for gold and diamonds. After months of rough life they return homeward on foot and by river craft and the route goes past this waterfall. Here they are often met by women who relieve them of some of their hard earned treasure. Hence the name 'Bad Woman Falls.' ”
Katherine Allen, "Behind the Veil”
This assemblage piece by Katherine Allen of British Columbia, Canada, suggests the dual realities of being pregnant – the intimacy and privacy of being “behind the veil” and the assertion of the body in a very public way.
Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri, "Rahim"
A Malaysian artist working in a Chinese brush style, Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri's "Rahim" explores the meaning of compassion and mercy in respect to the treatment of women. The first Malay to work in the style, Aljeffri also paints in watercolor and experiments in silk painting.