The Star(s) Art Exhibition (Xīngxīng měizhǎn 星星美展) took place on September 27, 1979 when The Stars Art Group (Xīngxīng 星星)), a group of avant-garde and self-taught (not trained in the Academy) Chinese artists, staged an unpermitted exhibition on the railings of the China Art Gallery after being denied an official exhibition space.[1] [2] The artists used formerly banned western style, from post-impressionism to abstract expressionism to challenge both aesthetic convention and political authority. Their exhibition was closed by the police and they posted a notice on Democracy Wall.[3] In November, the group held their first formal exhibition, Star Art Exhibition, at Beihai Park, Beijing. The exhibition included 163 works by 23 nonprofessional artists.[4] Star Art exhibition was a milestone in China's contemporary art.[5]