Global Feminisms

Global Feminisms was a feminist art exhibition that originally premiered at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, New York City, United States, in March 2007. Global Feminisms was the first international exhibition exclusively dedicated to feminist art from 1990 to present. The exhibition was co-curated by Maura Reilly and Linda Nochlin and consists of work by 88 women artists from 62 countries. Global Feminisms showcased work in all media forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installation, and performance, with a focus on contemporary feminist art from a global perspective. Its aim was to move beyond the Western brand of feminism, which has become the dominant representation of feminism and feminist art since the 1970s.

Artists involved

Global Feminisms featured the work of significant artists, including Pipilotti Rist, Catherine Opie, Patricia Piccinini, Lida Abdul, Hiroki Okuda, Ingrid Mwangi, Tanja Ostojić, Miwa Yanagi, Pilar Albarracín, Tracey Rose, Lin Tianmiao, Milica Tomić, Lee Bul, Latifa Echakhch, Jenny Saville, Dayanita Singh, Regina José Galindo, Tania Bruguera, Parastou Forouhar, Skowmon Hastanan, Ghada Amer, Yin Xiuzhen, Michèle Magema, Angela de la Cruz, Tracey Emin, among others. In addition to these feminist artists, the exhibition included a catalogue with essays by Maura Reilly, Linda Nochlin, Geeta Kapur, Virginia Pérez-Ratton, Élisabeth Lebovici, Joan Kee, Charlotta Kotik, and N'Goné Fall.

Style and work

Global Feminisms showcased multiple forms of artworks. Among the artworks included Ryoko Suzuki (Japanese, b. 1970) Bind, 2001, Boryana Rossa (Bulgarian, b. 1972) Celebrating the Next Twinkling, 1999, Ingrid Mwangi (Kenyan, b. 1975) Static Drift, 2001, Tania Bruguera (Cuban, b. 1968) Statistic (Estadistica), 1996, among many others.

Themes

The Global Feminisms exhibition was arranged by theme. The question that surrounded the exhibition is 'what is feminist art?'. There are a number of definitions of feminist art, therefore, there are several themes throughout the exhibition. The exhibition was displayed in a space that is anchored by the permanent installation of Judy Chicago's Dinner Party, as installed by Maura Reilly. Themes within the exhibition included openness, multiculturalism, variety, and gender inequality. Global Feminisms explored feminist issues among women across and within different cultures, races, classes, religions, and sexualities. Themes within these larger overarching thematic patterns included death, pain, old age, war, sex, and motherhood. The installation at the Brooklyn Museum did not follow a linear chronology, but was organized by four categories which the works overlap: life cycles, identities, politics, and emotion. Life cycles consisted of the stages of life from birth to death. Identities investigated the notions of the self, including racial, gender, political, and religious identities. Politics explored the world through women artists who have demonstrated that the political is personal. Emotions presented the conventional idea of women as emotional creatures and victims.

Reviews and critiques

In a written survey conducted after viewing feminist artworks at the Brooklyn Museum, participant responses revealed that participants had a new awareness of feminism. It is said that Global Feminisms jumps back and forth between the success platforms of the marketplace and the institutional stage. It has been critiqued that most of the work within the exhibition is body-oriented and familiar to the point of old-fashioned.