There is an underlying awareness of what it means to be a woman in the art world, a field historically driven by male creativity and talent. The disparity is felt through all levels, from creators to curators to dealers, and is easily illustrated in the Art Review list Power 100, which leans heavily toward men. People notice enough to continue the conversation, a constant low rumble for decades, that ranges from small comments to large efforts like the June 2015 ArtNews dedicated to women in the art world.
Even though people are aware of it and talk about strides that have been made, the reality is fairly harsh. Take, for example, this “positive” statement about new Alice Walton purchases for her family’s Crystal Bridges Museum.
The Bourgeois will bolster Crystal Bridges’s collection of women artists which is said to be strong, with 117 female of 674 represented artists, a high percentage for a museum.
That’s 17%.
If the best way to support an artist is to invest in the work, then we have a ways to go. However, there is hope in projects like the recently unveiled Valeria Napoleone XX, which will “increase the number of commissions and number of female artists in public collections.” Cool!
Do your part and add to or at least listen to the conversation about women in the art world. There is much more to be said and done.
