What is Feminist about 'Feminist' Shows?

A collectively authored text by members of the Feminist Duration Reading Group about the promises and shortcomings of feminist exhibitions.

The article begins:

"Finally, feminist art is being celebrated by institutions in the UK. Sixteen years after a series of blockbuster feminist exhibitions in North America and Europe in 2007, three major group exhibitions have recently opened: Women in Revolt at Tate Britain; Re/Sisters at the Barbican Art Gallery; and Ridykeulous: Ridykes’ Cavern of Fine Inverted Wines and Deviant Videos at Nottingham Contemporary. Elsewhere, Marina Abramovic’s monographic survey is touted as the ‘first solo show by a woman artist’ at the main gallery of the Royal Academy.

Given the widespread neglect of the women’s art movement in UK institutions, we approached these exhibitions with a degree of scepticism. We wondered if the shows would be tokenistic gestures of inclusion, designed to compensate for decades of exclusion; if they would feel nostalgic and retro-chic; or manage to convey the urgency of the struggles explored. Fundamentally, we wondered how their curators could enact feminist tactics and values, in form as well as content."

Feminist Duration Reading Group member Dot Zhihan translated the article into Chinese for Art Review China's 2024 International Women's Day edition, March 2024.