Featuring works by around 200 women artists from more than 20 countries and regions, Echoes of Her Century: A Global Exhibition of Women's Art, is on view at Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai.

Chinese artist Yu Hong (from left); Wang Wei, director of Long Museum; Yang Bodu; and art critic Shen Qilan at the opening of the exhibition.

Echoes of Her Century: A Global Exhibition of Women's Art, currently on view at the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai, brings together works by nearly 200 female artists from more than 20 countries and regions, spanning from the early 20th century to the present.

The exhibition seeks to trace and articulate a 100-year art history shaped and written by women, according to Wang Wei, the exhibition's curator and founding director of the Long Museum.

As early as the 1920s, female artists began to emerge within the male-dominated art world. By the mid to late-20th century, amid the rise of pluralism and critical discourse, women developed artistic languages and creative practices of unprecedented diversity.

"Sincere, emancipated, independent, and self-aware — these artists articulate their own distinct voices," Wang says.

Ten years ago, Wang curated She: International Women Artists Exhibition, which was billed as one of China's first exhibitions to feature female artists from 13 countries spanning over 10 centuries.

Since then, Wang has continued to pay close attention to female artists and their increasing prominence in the global art scene. "Women have become an integral part of the core power that creates the outlook of contemporary art," she finds.

More often, they are referred to as "outstanding artists" instead of "outstanding female artists". This shows that women are being viewed more for their achievements than by gender, she says.

One of the featured artists, Yu Hong, shared her past experience with the Long Museum at the exhibition opening on March 10. She held a large-scale solo exhibition in 2019 titled The World of Saha, which was curated by Jerome Sans. It was a great challenge for any artist presenting their work at the Long Museum because of its 12-meter-high ceiling, Yu said.

With one of her paintings featured in the current exhibition, "the museum has witnessed my progress as an artist, and I have witnessed the Long Museum's development," she says, sharing that her collaboration with the museum feels "precious".

As a collector, Wang is aware of the difficulties female artists face. "I collect female artists' works every year, especially those of young women," she says. "I hope to turn the Long Museum into a stage for female artists to blossom."

A few weeks ago, 39-year-old Yang Bodu concluded her solo exhibition, Black Eagle, White Eagle, at the museum. The exhibition sparked renewed interest among international galleries in her paintings featuring architecture and space, Wang says.

"As a female artist, you have to give much more than your male colleagues," Yang told China Daily. As a mother of two, she found that much of her time and energy was spent on family obligations. "People are often unaware of the struggles. They would even consider taking care of the family as a way of rest," she said.

In this situation, "I have to work with everyone that can help; my mother, my mother-in-law … I often feel that women are a primitive community sitting by the bonfire, caring about each other, and sharing duties. This somehow turns the work into joyful and cherished experiences".

According to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, which was released on March 12, female artist representation strengthened in 2025, reaching 50 percent of total artists among primary market galleries and 45 percent across all dealers.

Works by female artists accounted for 37 percent of sales by value, up from 28 percent in 2018, although disparities persist at the highest revenue levels.

zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn