Wonder Women Opening Reception

Wonder Women: On Page and Off   

The ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's museum of comic and cartoon art is proud to present, Wonder Women: On Page and Off.

The exhibit is an exploration of the role of women as artists and in the workplace of the comics industry, and the way the way women have been portrayed in the art form of comics.

Comics provide yet another example of the roller coaster of gender constructs that hindered women. Since the turn of the 20th century, women have inched their way into the industry despite the many hurdles placed in front of them. Early female comic characters often appeared in minor, supportive roles, however, today there are many comic heroines as main characters.

In the 1940s, women made their way into the industry as artists and characters, altering the precedence for women in comics forever, only to be sent back home in the 1950s. It wasn't until the 1990s that women pushed through the comic ceiling once and for all.

Thanks to Trina Robbins? historical collection we will be able to honor the growth of female characters in comics at the ToonSeum. Our exhibit Wonder Women: On Page and Off explores the avenues women have made in the comic and graphic industries as artists and characters, merging history with exceptional art.

The exhibition is curated by Kathleen Adam of The Women’s Museum of California with further assistance from herstorian Trina Robbins and the ToonSeum staff.

Over 50 pieces of original art, representing a her-storical timeline of women artists will be shown, one of the largest such exhibition of women in comics ever presented.

The exhibition is especially profound for Pittsburgh as the home of the first African American Woman cartoonist, Jackie Ormes and the site for the creation of the iconic We Can Do It poster.

 The exhibit will run January 4th thru March 30th 2014. An opening reception celebrating Pittsburgh's Wonder Women will take place on January 4th at 7pm