Press Release - The Huntington Selects Women’s Center for Creative Work for “Five” Collaboration

SAN MARINO, Calif.— The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens announced today it will partner with the Los Angeles-based Women’s Center for Creative Work for the second year of its “Five” initiative. “Five” pairs The Huntington with five different organizations over five years, bringing contemporary artists to respond to a range of themes drawn from The Huntington’s deep and diverse library, art, and botanical collections. The results are intended to create engaging, thoughtful, provocative, and inspiring experiences for Huntington audiences. In its first year (2016), the institution collaborated with JPL/NASA to present an installation of the JPL sound sculpture Orbit Pavilion, giving a nod to The Huntington’s own history of aerospace, astronomy, and earth sciences collections.

In the second year of the initiative, The Huntington is partnering with the Women’s Center for Creative Work to explore the theme of collecting and collections. WCCW will invite their associated artists to propose projects that engage with specific collections across the institution in order to create new work. Outcomes could include site specific installations, readings, events, podcasts, or any number of performance or media-based works.

Founded in 2013, WCCW is a nonprofit organization that cultivates feminist creative communities and practices through its facilities, residency programs, and rapidly growing network of over 15,000 followers. “We are extremely excited to collaborate with WCCW,” said Jennifer Watts, curator of photography and visual culture at The Huntington. “While a relatively young organization, WCCW has a track record that demonstrates a deeply considered, humane, and historically conscious approach to contemporary issues. WCCW is collaborative by nature and design, and this quality, along with their research and theme-based projects, put them in perfect alignment with ‘Five.’”

The project will culminate in an exhibition and associated public programs at The Huntington in the fall of 2017 that will highlight the artists’ collaborations.

“Five” is supported by Pasadena philanthropist Jennifer Cheng and is led by Watts and Catherine Hess, The Huntington’s chief curator of European Art.

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Contacts
Thea M. Page, 626-405-2260, tpage@huntington.org
Lisa Blackburn, 626-405-2140, lblackburn@huntington.org