Art, Family, and Community: Opening the Chinese Empresses Exhibition at Wellesley Free Library

On Monday, July 20, 2026, we welcomed approximately 25–30 visitors to the opening reception of Xiang Li Art’s Chinese Empresses exhibition at Wellesley Free Library.

Even on a relatively quiet Monday evening, the library became a lively gathering place filled with artwork, storytelling, hands-on activities, refreshments, and meaningful conversations. Visitors of different ages stopped by throughout the evening to explore the exhibition, meet artist Xiang Li, and learn more about the women represented in her Chinese Empresses collection.

Xiang Li’s First Visit to the Exhibition

The opening was especially meaningful because it was Xiang Li’s first time seeing the exhibition after it had been installed earlier in July by her daughter, Fei Wu, and Adam Leffert.

More than 30 canvas reproductions from the Chinese Empresses collection were displayed throughout the library. For the reception, Xiang also brought three original silk paintings, giving visitors a special opportunity to see the depth, texture, mineral pigments, and meticulous detail of her traditional painting technique up close.

Xiang enjoyed walking through the completed exhibition and seeing how the artworks interacted with the library’s welcoming public spaces. She was especially delighted by the waiting room, where Fei had utilized several glass display cases to present additional artwork, books, photographs, and materials related to the collection.

These displays extended the exhibition beyond the main reception room and gave library visitors another way to encounter Xiang’s work, even while passing through the building during an ordinary day.

A Multigenerational Family Celebration

The reception was also a family gathering.

Xiang’s youngest sister, Hongwu Li, attended with her husband, artist and curator Zuo Yuan, their daughter Shauna Yuan, and Shauna’s children. Having several generations of the family together made the evening even more memorable.

Zuo Yuan is an accomplished painter, educator, and curator whose creative and professional life has crossed between China and the United States. He studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and later earned both BFA and MFA degrees from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. His paintings explore light, color, space, material, and the possibilities of bringing Chinese spatial sensibilities into contemporary oil painting. He has also organized and curated major exhibitions and participated in public art projects internationally.

Having Zuo there as both a family member and fellow artist added another dimension to the evening. It was meaningful to see artists from the same extended family—each with distinctive experiences, techniques, and perspectives—gathered around Xiang’s work.

The children’s presence was equally important. They participated in the activities, explored the exhibition, and experienced the artwork not as something distant or formal, but as part of their own family story and cultural inheritance.

Art, Stories, and Hands-On Activities

Throughout the reception, we shared stories about the Chinese empresses, Xiang’s artistic process, and her decades-long career as a traditional Chinese artist.

Visitors were also invited to participate in hands-on activities designed for both children and adults. These creative moments made the event interactive and approachable, allowing guests to respond to the exhibition through their own imagination and curiosity.

Fei brought cookies, sweet treats, and soft drinks for everyone to enjoy. The refreshments helped create a relaxed atmosphere where visitors could stay for a while, meet one another, ask questions, return to their favorite paintings, and continue conversations inspired by the artwork.

Art Gives Us Something in Common

One of the most rewarding parts of the evening was seeing how naturally people connected through the exhibition.

Some guests came specifically for the reception. Others encountered the Chinese Empresses while visiting the library and decided to step inside. People arrived with different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and levels of familiarity with Chinese history—but the artwork gave everyone a place to begin.

Art is where we bring people together to share culture, love, stories, and conversation. Suddenly, we all have something in common.

A portrait might remind someone of a family member. A historical story might lead to a discussion about courage, marriage, leadership, motherhood, ambition, or survival. A child might simply be drawn to the colors, the phoenixes, the clothing, or the animals.

These moments remind us that art does not always need to be explained before it can be felt. Sometimes it simply creates the space for people to notice one another and begin talking.

A Conversation With Wellesley Media

We were also pleased to speak with Paul Falcone of Wellesley Media, who conducted a wonderful interview with Fei Wu about the Chinese Empresses collection.

Their conversation explored Xiang’s creative journey, the stories behind the paintings, and the mother-daughter collaboration that has helped bring the collection into libraries, museums, galleries, and community spaces.

We are grateful to Paul and Wellesley Media for taking the time to document the exhibition and help introduce Xiang’s work to the wider Wellesley community.

A Mother-Daughter Collaboration

The Wellesley Free Library exhibition reflects the evolving partnership between Xiang Li and Fei Wu.

Xiang continues creating new Chinese Empresses artworks and individual portraits, expanding a collection she began more than a decade ago. Fei works alongside her to research and communicate the stories, organize exhibitions, develop books and educational materials, and create public programs that welcome new audiences into the work.

Adam supports many of these efforts through transportation, installation, filming, photography, and the countless practical details required to bring an exhibition into a public space.

Together, we hope to present the Chinese Empresses not only as historical figures, but as complex women whose lives can still encourage reflection and conversation today.

Thank You, Wellesley

We are deeply grateful to Wellesley Free Library for welcoming Xiang Li Art and providing such a beautiful, accessible setting for the Chinese Empresses collection.

Thank you to everyone who attended, participated in the activities, enjoyed refreshments with us, asked thoughtful questions, and spent time with the artwork.

We are also grateful to Hongwu Li, Zuo Yuan, Shauna Yuan, and their family for being part of this special evening. Their presence made the reception feel not only like an exhibition opening, but also like a celebration of family, creativity, cultural memory, and the ways art can travel from one generation to another.

And for our long-time supports and friends, Tripti Gore Chandorkar, Adam Leffert and our Taekwondo hero and teacher Michael O’Malley.

For Xiang, seeing the completed installation for the first time—and meeting the people experiencing it—made the evening especially memorable.

We look forward to continuing to bring the Chinese Empresses collection into libraries, museums, galleries, schools, and community spaces where these remarkable women and their stories can be discovered by audiences of all ages.

You might also like…

• Chinese Empresses Arrive at Wellesley Free Library
• Voices of Strength: Xiang Li’s Original Paintings at Newton Free Library
• Lunar New Year at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2026): Sharing Xiang Li’s Silk Paintings and Chinese Zodiac Art with 3,000 Visitors