The exhibition offers a motley panoply of photos of smiling women and mothers busy with daily activities, talented actresses, singers and waif-like models clad in exquisite outfits as well as military women, successful politicians, athletes, engineers, doctors and mill workers among others. These pieces are exciting moments from mundane life – from morning till night – captured and perpetuated by both amateur and professional Chinese photographers.

One piece on display, for instance, shows a bustling day in the megacity of nearly 25 million people. Other works convey images of construction work, women creating paintings, sculptures, clothing collections and jewelry. Other photos show women participating in sporting events, festivals and competitions, students rushing to schools and journalists reporting on events.

As night falls on the city, life still goes on: one can see singers performing at a concert, actresses receiving awards at a festival, female surgeons conducting operations, fashion designers preparing for a fashion show and young people strolling in parks. The 100-odd photos are by professional and amateur photographers, who participated in a competition announced in late 2012 by Shanghai Women’s Federation (SWF), a co-organizer of the exhibition. The best works were selected for a same-name photo album published by SWF and Shanghai Association of Photographers.

“Our exhibition presents photographs that document contemporary Shanghai women’s daily life,” said Jiao Yang, the President of Shanghai Women’s Federation, in her welcome remarks. “You can also see pictures of Shanghai landmarks and landscapes. We hope that through this exhibition Uzbek people will the diligence of our women, their passion for work and their contributions to the development of China.”

In the opinion of SWF President Jiao Yang, when the words ‘Shanghai’ and ‘woman’ blend into a single phrase, this word combination conveys a unique message that incorporates words and images such as Shanghai style, charm, independent personality, fashionable details, social responsibility, love of family, commitment to career and diligence.

Organized by Shanghai Women’s Federation and Fund Forum in collaboration with the SISF, the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, the Women’s Council and the National Breast Cancer Association of Uzbekistan, the exhibition was held as part of the international conference ‘Ensuring women’s rights and freedoms and their full participation in political, socio-economic and cultural life of the country: the experience of Uzbekistan’. The conference will be attended by representatives of SWF and its president Jiao Yang. Since this is the first visit by the president of SWF to Uzbekistan, the organizers made a decision to set up the exhibition ‘A Wonderful Day from the Life of Shanghai Women’.

Prior to the launch of the photo exhibition, the delegation from SWF visited Fund Forum where they learned about the organization’s and its partners’ activities, with many of the Chinese delegation members saying they were impressed by Fund Forum’s efforts and expressing a desire to forge close collaboration with the organization in various areas.

Fund Forum and partners have been working to stage art shows presenting the creative endeavors of artists from all over the world. The primary goal given to such art projects is to familiarize the Uzbek public with current trends in contemporary global culture and heritage. The annual Style.Uz Art Week, for one, has included solo exhibitions of works by Austria’s Michael Fuchs and Reinhard Brandner, Italy’s Marco Perego, France’s Catherine Metais, Trần Trọng Vũ and Alexandre Clérisse, Russia’s Igor Vishnyakov, Spain’s Joan Miro and UK’s Annya Sand among others. Other events have presented works by Hatuna Homerika (Georgia), Eynulla Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Grigoriy Mayofis, (Russia), a group of Israeli artists, prominent Japanese artist and scholar Ikuo Horayama and French photographer Frédérique Beaupertuis-Bressand.