“You can’t write history without all the voices or it’s just a history of power.”
Guerrilla Girls began protesting the non/under/misrepresentation of women in art museums in 1985. As their movement grew so did the member count and in the 1990s, to distinguish masked individuals with their anonymity in tact, they took on pseudonyms of female artists and writers who have passed away. To recognize a week of interactions with phenomenal women in the arts, I thought it would be appropriate for all of us to learn about those who have paved the way. Click on one of the following names to learn about the lives Guerrilla Girls choose to commemorate: Frida Kahlo, Kathe Kollwitz, Meta Fuller, Lee Krasner, Gertrude Stein, Georgia O'Keeffe, Eva Hesse, Emily Carr, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Anais Nin, Romaine Brooks, Rosalba Carriera, Alice Neel, Tina Modotti, Alma Thomas, Violette LeDuc, Ana Mendieta, Zora Neale Hurston, Liubov Popova, and Vanessa Bell.
Once a quarter Georgia Museum of Art hosts a teen only art night, Teen Studio. The evening consists of a tour in a current exhibition, art making activity, and FREE dinner! In fact, the whole event is free for students from the surrounding Athens area. The most recent Teen Studio drew in a group of young girls who participated in a tour of Not Ready to Make Nice: Guerrilla Girls in the Artworld and Beyond. After time in the galleries and a discussion about sexism, feminism, and art over pizza, the participants made posters speaking to what action or message they would like the world to pay more attention to. The Guerrilla Girls's work gave us a platform from which we were able to easily start a conversation about difficult topics, many of which were new to these young women. Ideas about how girls are as tough as boys and everyones ideas deserve to be heard no matter what their background or sexual preference. It was an inspiring educational experience for the teens involved but also a moment of personal growth for teens and adults alike.
