LONDON (Reuters) – A London fair is seeking to reverse centuries of gender imbalance in the arts world by giving women artists their own platform.
The Women in Art Fair, launched last year, opens at the central Mall Galleries on Wednesday to coincide with Frieze Week, a major contemporary art event in the British capital.
“With the art industry for the past couple of centuries … the prices of women’s work has been less than men; the level of opportunity for artists to be taken up by galleries has been less than men,” fair director Jacqueline Harvey told Reuters.
“I came from a gallery situation and we were being bombarded by large numbers of female artists seeking representation.”
Some of the most recent data shows art by women represented only 3.3% of auction sales between 2008 and mid-2022, according to the 2022 Burns Halperin Report, which covered representation in U.S. museums and the art market.
The Women in Art Fair showcases works by around 150 artists, and includes booths for galleries focusing on women or female-identifying artists, curated sections and pieces selected following an open call that received some 2,000 submissions.
“It’s been so heart-warming and really positive to see so many women come forward, whether they’re curators, galleries or artists, to say ‘We really want this to move forward for us,’ because for so long they felt a bit lost and not been able to anchor anywhere,” Harvey said.
“The industry has responded to the need (for) women’s shows. Women are being included in more fairs, (auction) prices have gone up,” she added.
Chinese artist Wen Wu is among those whose work is exhibited in the fair’s curated “Women’s Cycles” section.
“All the participants, all the female artists, I feel we have (a) voice, (I) hope this voice can be more and more strong to let the people know our role (is not just as) a daughter, wife or whatever. We are artists…we have this… creative power,” she said.
The Women in Art Fair runs until Oct. 12.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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