Attend the “Setting the Table” exhibition closing event and visit with a former university dean. Join Cal Cannon, the Dean of Humanities and Human Sciences who brought the groundbreaking feminist sculpture, “The Dinner Party” to UH-Clear Lake’s campus in 1980, for the closing reception of the exhibition on display in UH-Clear Lake’s Alfred R. Neumann Library and is scheduled through April 30, 6 – 8 p.m., Alfred R. Neumann Library, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX, 77058.

“Setting the Table” examines the behind-the-scenes creation of Chicago’s “The Dinner Party,” first displayed at UH-Clear Lake March 9, 1980 during Women’s Week, which drew 36,000 viewers to the debut.

Chicago’s original work, “The Dinner Party,” comprises 39 place settings on a triangular table that includes embroidered table runners, gold chalices and utensils, and painted porcelain plates honoring an important woman from history and each woman’s unique personality. Inscribed in gold luster on the white tile floor are the names of another 999 mythical and historical women. It has been seen by more than one million viewers at venues in six countries.

Chicago is an artist, author, feminist and educator with a career spanning four decades.

The commemorative “Setting the Table” display includes a themed collection of drawings, test plates and maquettes, or rough draft models of unfinished work, from original installation’s design. With a theme of process and collaboration, the exhibit will showcase the historical work’s design process from start, in 1974, to finish, in 1979.

Simultaneously, attendees have had the opportunity to experience artists Margarita Cabrera’s 2010 video documentary titled “Space in Between,” a collaborative project involving sewing and embroidery workshops for women across U.S. border cultures.

The project is supported in part by a grant from the City of Houston Mayor’s Special Initiative Program of the Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment, Michael and Ann Wismer-Landolt, Ben Mieszkuc, Gina T. Rizzo, M.D., UH-Clear Lake’s Office of the Provost and UH-Clear Lake’s School of Human Sciences and Humanities.

For more information on this event, email artinfo@uhcl.edu or call 281-283-2016. For more information about the exhibition, visit http://hsh.uhcl.edu/judychicago.