A forgotten past
The history of art often lets female talent side by side. The Guerrilla Girls, an activist collective consisting of artists, called for the 1980’s on gender inequality in museums, revealing that less than 5% of the works on display were women women, despite the fact that the female nude occupied 85% of the rooms.
Recent data and positive initiatives
According to the latest report by the Women in the Visual Arts Association (MAV), women’s participation at the ARCO Art Fair has decreased to 35% this year, after a previous attempt to achieve parity last year. However, there are initiatives that seek to reverse this trend.
Art Network of Art Museums in Catalonia
Since 2019, the Art Museums Network of Catalonia has been working to research and promote Catalan artists, with the aim of rescuing them from forgetting and giving visibility to their works.
Activities to celebrate International Museum Day
Within the framework of International Museum Day (DIM), various activities are presented to recognize and celebrate the contributions of women artists.
Girona Art Museum
One of the prominent initiatives is the page “In Key of Women” of the Art Museum of Girona, which offers a collection of information on women’s artists and organizes guided tours focused on his works. This action includes the audio guide ‘in a woman’s key’, which explores the permanent collection through the gaze of various experts in the history of art.
Tossa de Mar Women Museum
The Museum of Women of Tossa de Mar, recently reopened, explores the role of women in the daily life of the community before tourism, addressing aspects such as fishing and household chores.
Samples of art and cinema
The current exhibitions are not limited to the visual arts, but also extend to cinema and music.
Maya Deren to the Ethnological Museum
The ethnological museum and the cultures of the world hosts an exhibition dedicated to Maya Deren, a pioneer filmmaker of experimental cinema. The exhibition includes its most significant films and reflects on its influence on contemporary art.
Word Women at the Frederic Marès Museum
Through the exhibition ‘Women of Word’, the Frederic Marès Museum emphasizes the importance of the female voice in history, with figures such as Santa Teresa and Maria Magdalena.
Return to roots
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Joan Miró Foundation revisits the works of young female artists of the 70’s and 80’s, offering a renewed perspective on their legacy.
Sara Gómez on the Viceroy
La Virreina Image Center presents an exhibition dedicated to Sara Gómez, a Cuban filmmaker who opened paths in anti -ethnographic cinema, approaching gender and race issues.
Sound and comic experiences
The Barcelona Music Museum presents ‘Esquellòrium’, a sound installation that invites reflection, while the exhibition ‘Bodies that speak’ at the Casino Cultural Center in Manresa explores the representations of the female body in the comic throughout the 20th century.
With this rich programming, cultural institutions offer a unique opportunity to recognize and value the legacy of women in the arts, a reminder of their persistent influence on the contemporary world.
