Dear Aunt Art Agony,
I was in a meeting at the big art gallery. We were supposed to bring ideas. This gallery director just got fired. People say he became a monk. I heard he went to Ottawa. Everyone in my town celebrated when he left. The Board asked artists to tell them what we wanted to happen next.
Some of us asked for more women's art. This big gallery has hardly any women's art in its collection. It does not show much work by women. Most of the major solo shows are by men.
The main curator said she would not give extra help to women. This curator said she is a feminist. She has worked at the big gallery a long time. She was angry.
Aunt Art Agony, I am afraid to be a woman artist. Do you think I should change?
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4 comments:
Gentle Reader,
This curator looked at you and imagined the Sabre-Toothed Tiger of Guilt was preparing to pounce. Or perhaps she felt the soft warm breath of the Wooly Mammoth of Confusion down her neck. In either case, if she hosted this meeting to reclaim the institution from recent crimes of which she may have been a victim, you, my dear, might have trodden on some very delicate toes.
Nonetheless, we must ask ourselves, "Who is getting paid here?" Curators must curate and they must show equity intelligence, must they not? Was she so altered by micro-climatic changes that she lost track of her responsibility for everyone along the artistic food chain? Was she investigating a new role as top predator?
We see clearly that she was part of a complicated ecosystem. Rejenerating the upper-atmosphere is only possible by integrating very large sums of money. In turn, it is common knowledge that money thrives on both large and small molecules of men. It is a symbiotic relationship - men create money so that men can consume it. (If they share it, their stratospheric dreams diminish.) The resulting off-gasses fertilise what, sadly, some still think of as a healthy habitat. We are afraid that this curator was trying to expunge you from her brand new terrarium.
Now, is there anything at all you can do about it? Let us rely on advice from the Council of Agony Art Aunts. I am sure there are many in the ranks that have dealt with extirpation attempts and have survived.
Yes, even though there is sometimes a veneer of inclusion, or moments of inclusion in large art institutions, when you do the math it can be quite revealing. For example, in looking at Turner prize winners since 1984, 21 of 24 were men, and of these 21 men, 17 were white. What kind of culture is this? What can we do about it? Continue to do the math, share the stats and demand change, while continuing to make your work within anti-patriarchal, anti-racist support networks...
How do the big galleries make up for their huge historical shows of art by dead white guys? (eg. Art Gallery of Ontario, National Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery)
As of their September 9 and 28 websites, this fall these galleries (in this random selection) represent women and men equally in upcoming solo shows. Better yet, some even give women more shows to make up for the past.
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (two for women, one for a man)
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (one for a woman, one for a man)
Confederation Centre Art Gallery (two for women, one for a man)
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (three for women, none for men)
Ottawa Art Gallery (two for women, one for a man)
Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery (one for a woman, none for men)
St. Mary’s University Art Gallery (one for a woman, one for a man)
These galleries could use an emergency workshop on avoiding bias towards art made by men.
? Art Gallery of Ontario (none for women, two for men)
? Glenbow Art Gallery (none for women, five for men)
? Kamloops Art Gallery (one for a woman, two for men)
? Kelowna Art Gallery (one for a woman, two for men)
? Musée des beaux arts de Montréal (none for women, two for men)
? Museum of Contemporary Art (one for a woman, two for men)
? National Art Gallery (one for a woman, four for men)
? The Rooms (none for women, one for a man)
? Vancouver Art Gallery (none for women, two for men)
? Winnipeg Art Gallery (none for women, two for men)
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