SLOWLY but surely, the status of women in the art world is changing. Long relegated to the rank of muse or model, women artists are finally being recognised for their contribution to art history. Their work is increasingly being celebrated at major exhibitions and fairs.
The Women in Art Fair (WIAF) is part of this trend towards the revaluation of women artists after centuries of being sidelined. The first edition of this new art fair will be held from October 11 to 16 in the English capital, alongside the prestigious Frieze London and Frieze Masters. It aims to "redress the gender imbalance in the art industry" and give women artists, gallerists and curators "an opportunity to show their work and contribute to the developing exchange of ideas around gender, sexuality and culture," as stated in a press release.
A more than welcome recalibration, at a time when more and more importance and, above all, value is being attached to works produced by women. But disparities remain: creations by women artists account for just 3.3% of the US$187 billion (RM868.99 billion) spent at auction between 2008 and the first half of 2022, according to the latest edition of the Burns Halperin report. What's more, only one woman appears in Artnet's ranking of the most sought-after artists on its platform. This is Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her deliriously phantasmagorical world of infinitely varied polka dots.
The Women in Art Fair hopes to remedy this injustice through three different sections. The West Gallery will host some 20 booths presenting to the general public some of the "top names [in art] and cutting-edge international galleries," the full list of which will be unveiled in September, according to a statement given by fair director Jacqueline Harvey to The Art Newspaper.
The East Gallery, meanwhile, will host an exhibition entitled "Unnatural Women" curated by artist, writer and curator Rowena Easton. It will feature women artists such as Paula Rego, Marcelle Hanselaar, Abigail Norris, Olivia Bullock and Angelina May Davies, according to the trade publication. The North Gallery will host an exhibition and sale of works by contemporary artists on the theme "The world is a family."
A dedicated museum in the south of France
Nevertheless, one question remains. If gender equality is still far from being achieved in the arts – only 12% of the works included in the collections of the biggest American museums have been created by women – aren't we in danger of reinforcing the idea that gender is a selection criterion? The debate is open-ended, even if the organizers of the Women in Art Fair are convinced of the need to create spaces for the great forgotten figures of art history.
"I'm not sure showing women artists separately and divorcing them from a marketplace is the best way of shifting the needle, but it is a powerful call to action and a sign that commercial galleries are not changing or adapting fast enough," Sigrid Kirk, co-founder of Awita, a non-profit organisation associated with the WIAF fair, told The Art Newspaper.
Other initiatives are also moving in this direction. A new museum dedicated entirely to women artists will open in Mougins, southeast France, in 2024. It will be housed in the town's Museum of Classical Art, inaugurated in 2011. The latter will close its doors on September 1 for almost a year, before being reborn as FAMM, for Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins.
FAMM will exclusively present works by women artists from the Christian Levett collection. Among them are creations by Louise Bourgeois, Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, Cecily Brown, Helen Frankenthaler, Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth and many others. "I have been a passionate collector for over a quarter century now, and as my collecting and art research interests matured over the years, I believe that it is now time for the museum to evolve as well. I cannot wait to reopen the new museum, FAMM, which I am certain will quickly become a vibrant destination for connoisseurs, collectors, & art lovers in the South of France & globally," Christian Levett explained in a statement.
This cultural institution prides itself on being a pioneer in Europe, even though the German city of Bonn has been home to a contemporary art museum dedicated to women artists since 1981. Be that as it may, it bears witness to a change in attitude towards those who have long been denied the status of professional artist. They now have exhibitions, art fairs and even entire museums to their credit if they still represent a minority in sales, collections and exhibitions generally. – ETX Daily Up, August 29, 2023
