Ancillary 9

The topic I’m focusing on is the lack of female artists’ representation in the visual art world, specifically, the lack of exposure in galleries, museums, and mainstream exhibition places. I want to explore whether and how we can initiate change to this issue by using social media sites like Tiktok, Instagram, and Twitter that reach worldwide/global audiences. The selection of art pieces with a bias based on gender in the art world has been happening since the beginning of artistic practices, even though there shouldn’t have any artistic ability differences due to gender as art is one of the most abstractive areas of expression that requires no prerequisite. Male artists have saturated the art market since the appearance of artists as a profession. When the majority of people who are not familiar with art think about famous artists, they will only think of Leonardo Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, or Picasso, who are all male artists. Throughout history, male artists have had a much greater chance of gaining opportunities that help them rise to fame, which is still happening now as there are still plenty of places where curators curate exhibitions with a bias on artists’ gender. There have been efforts made by groups like the Guerilla girls during the 80s and 90s, who create art pieces, both performative and visual, demanding galleries’ and museums’ attention on lacking female artist representation in exhibitions that stirs the art world. However, there was little to no change as the museums didn’t input any real action rather than stating they would change. So now, with the increasing globalization of information and ideas through social media, how can we initiate real change to the issue? Rather than just simply stating having changed. I will explore more the effect of social media on female artists’ exposure as social media provides a much more available and less biased platform than typical gallery and museum settings. The issue of lacking female representation reflects the large question of gender inequality within the world as people have been fighting against it for decades.