Comb Sisters

From December 3 to 15, 2024, the Architecture Museum der TUM will present in Pavilion 333 the exhibition “Comb Sisters: Architecture of a Women's Collective”, based on the research of Master's graduate Yingjia Tan. The exhibition explores the radical communal architecture of the Comb Sisters, a 19th century women's collective in the Canton Delta that pioneered female autonomy. Archival maps, historical documents and the results of three months of field research, including photographs of abandoned communal houses and interviews with the last generation of Comb Sisters will be exposed. This exhibition is an extension of Yingjia Tan's master's thesis, which was supervised by Prof. Lepik at the Chair of Architectural History and Curatorial Practice at TUM.

The exhibition will be accompanied by the following events:

Vernissage: December 03, 2024, 6:00 pm

+ Intro Dr Andjelka Badnjar on behalf of Prof. Dr Andres Lepik
+ Speech M.A. Yingjia Tan, curator
+ Price award for Christiane Thalgott Preises 2024, recipient Yingjia Tan
+ Article launch Places Journal, author Yingjia Tan

Parity Jour Fixe "Hearing Unheard Voices": December 12, 6:00 pm

+ on the topic of oral history in architectural research "Hearing Unheard Voices"

+ Participants: Prof. Dr. Andres Lepik, M.A. Yingjia Tan, M.A. Eduarda Poubel

+ Moderator: Dr. Andjelka Badnjar

Finissage: December 15, 3:00 pm

+ Speech M.A. Yingjia Tan, curator

+ Film Screening A Simple Life by Ann Hui

About Comb Sisters: In the 19th century, numerous women in the Canton Delta of Southern China chose to remain unmarried. Empowered by their involvement in the thriving silk industry, they rejected the traditional submissive roles of wives and the constraints of a patriarchal feudal system. These women adopted the practice of “Combing Up”- a cultural ritual symbolizing their initiation: an unmarried, celibate, economically sufficient woman who lived communally with other women.

The exhibition is free of charge.

When
03 - 15 DECEMBER
Mon-Fri: 2 - 7 p.m.
Sat-Sun: 12 - 6 p.m.

Where
Pavillon 333
at the east side of the Pinakothek der Moderne 
Türkenstraße 15 
80333 Munich

Video: Christy He