Exhibition

(re)FOCUS: Then and Now

(Re)FOCUS: Then and Now is an exhibition in two parts that aims to celebrate the historically significant 1974 feminist show by 1) bringing artworks by the original 81 participating FOCUS artists together in one space and 2) presenting new & recent work/s by Philadelphia-based artists who are exploring ideas of gender identity, representation, marginalization, social justice, violence, equality, and empowerment in their contemporary studio practices.

Moore College of Art & Design—the first and only historically visual arts college for women in the nation—is a leader in generating programs that examine how diversity, technology, sustainability, and creative production drive and disrupt new and existing industries. This exhibition, along with its ancillary programming, aims to highlight the ongoing work of artists who identify as women, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming in Philadelphia’s community of emerging cultural producers. Organized by gallery director Gabrielle Lavin Suzenski along with Denise M. Brown, executive director of the Leeway Foundation, (Re)FOCUS: Now provides a platform for underrepresented voices and presents projects that reexamine FOCUS’s historical context through a new lens. Participating artists include: Atisha Fordyce, Wit López, Li Sumpter, Eva Wu, and The Future is Us: Annais Delgado, Justin Keller, Ali Islam, Laila Islam, and Isa Matisse.

Curated by Judith K. Brodsky and Diane Burko, (Re)FOCUS: Then presents 81 works of art by women who participated in the original 1974 exhibition Philadelphia Focuses on Women in the Visual Arts: FOCUS. FOCUS was a citywide festival conceived by Burko to illuminate and elevate the work of female artists—as one of the first national exhibitions created exclusively for women, FOCUS featured more than 150 exhibitions, panels, lectures, films, workshops and demonstrations devoted to women's art in and around Philadelphia. The central exhibition featured 81 artists from all over the nation including Miriam Schapiro, Joyce Kozloff, Faith Ringgold, Howardena Pindell, Louise Bourgeois, Mary Beth Edelson, Lee Krasner, Nancy Grossman, Yayoi Kusama, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Adrian Piper, and Alma Thomas, among others. Numerous commercial galleries participated in the festival and nearly all of the city’s university and college exhibition spaces devoted time to programming around women in the visual arts. The 1974 selection committee consisted of Anne d’Harnoncourt, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Marcia Tucker, founder of the New Museum; Adelyn Breeskin, director of the Baltimore Museum of Art; Cindy Nemser, art critic and founder of the Feminist Art Journal; and Lila Katzen, artist.

Wit López, Tryna Keep a Straight Face, 2021, digital quilt self-portrait, archival print edition of 50, 12 x 18 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Location

1916 Race St, Philadelphia, PA 19103