Transnational perspectives on women's art, feminism and curating
An International Research Network
Feminism has had a major impact on the work of artists and curators for forty years, and the twenty-first century has seen major exhibitions and museum initiatives from Vienna to Los Angeles that explore art from a feminist perspective. In spite of the force of its presence in the global art world, the relationship between feminism and art collection and presentation has had little critical analysis. Our research network on the theme of Transnational perspectives on women's art, feminism and curating was formed to establish an international community of scholars and curators who would begin to develop that analysis.
The main aim of our network was to share information and forge shared intellectual languages to develop a research practice, language and community that can accommodate the challenges presented by a globalized field of study. The network organised three symposia and four workshops allowing us to chart the research and analysis that is taking place across northern Europe and North America on feminism and curating; it provided opportunities to develop the critical and conceptual tools for studying the work of curating in relation to feminism; and it addressed specific historical and political issues in the history of art interpretation and feminism in the three regions included in the network (North America, northern Europe and post-communist Europe). As the network matured, the intention was to develop our contacts to include researchers and research from around the world.
The network partners included two major museums whose research profile includes work on curating and collections- the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington D.C. and Tate Modern in London - as well as academic institutions with a special interest in feminism and art studies, including the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative at Concordia University in Montreal, and the Department of Art History at the University of Stockholm. The inclusion of museums and curators in the network alongside universities was designed to ensure that the viewpoints of practising curators were included, and to create collegial exchange between researchers in different institutional settings.
Part of the work of the grant was to document the partners' activities within a series of online resources, to include: webcasts or podcasts of public symposia talks; reports on the proceedings of network seminars; and an email discussion group accessible to any interested researcher. To join the Feminism and Curating email discussion group, contact Lara Perry.
