In 1971, Linda Nochlin, an American art historian, professor and writer, published an essay entitled “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” This work has changed the paradigm of world art analysis.
In 2019, a PinchukArtCentre research platform published a book “Why there are big female artists in Ukrainian art”. The publication was a try to cover the history of Ukrainian art from the late 19th to early 21st centuries through the gender prism.
In 2020, the role of women in creating of new art will be the main topic accompanying first weeks of work of the Municipal Art Centre in Lviv. An educational and exhibition program that will take place in this new art space in Lviv will be named “Why there will be female artists in Lviv”. The program stresses and brings back to public discussion the question of female artists viewed from the perspective of our place and time.
“Why there will be women artists in Lviv”: Municipal Art Center Holds Its First Exhibition
Starting on Monday, November 23, the Municipal Art Center at No. 11, Stefanyka St., will open the doors of its first exhibition. The event will be dedicated to modern art created by women, and will be titled “Why Lviv Will Have Women Artists.”
The exhibition will present the art of fourteen women artists, forming seven dialogues:
Zhanna Kadyrova — Alina Sokolova;
Vika Dovhadze — AntiGonna;
Vlada Ralko — Alina Kleitman;
KinderAlbum — Katia Liebkind;
Anastasiia Rudnieva — Ksenia Hnylytska;
Katarzyna Kozyra — Yermolaieva Kateryna;
Sydorenko Anna — Anna Zviahintseva.
“As it turned out in the process of preparing the project, some of the artists weren’t even aware of each other’s existence. Some are very widely known in narrow circles; some have a rich international exhibition history, but remain unknown here in Ukraine; some enjoy name recognition, but nobody actually knows who they are; some have slowly begun to slip into oblivion, though this shouldn’t be the case; and then there are the “new and wild” ones, of whom little is known. So this isn’t going to be just an exhibition of these women’s art, but also a conversation on who they are, and why we should see their art” – said exhibition co-curator, artist Oleh Suslenko.
The exhibition will go on until January 22, 2021. Admission is free and open every day from 10 am to 9 pm. To prevent the spread of Covid-19, all visitors are required to wear masks and submit to mandatory temperature tests.
The two months of the exhibition will also offer meetings with curators, authors’ tours and discussions, and the exposition itself will be constantly in flux.
Events will be announced on the Center’s website.
“One objective we set ourselves was to form a “circle” around this exhibition. That’s how we plan to answer the question of whether Lviv will have its women artists. How can we do this. We open with seven dialogues, and each artist is allocated her 1 cubic meter in the gallery’s space. We want to give these artists the opportunity to “pass the baton” over the course of the exhibition, such that every artist can change the dialogue of works on the wall, and include an author of her choice. Thus, the exhibition will be constantly variable.” – said another co-curator, artist Pavlo Kovach.
The exhibition will be gradually supplemented by inclusive elements. Among these, we plan an auditory explication for part of the exhibition, a tactile exhibit, and the description of the exhibition will also be available on sheets of Braille.
Two of the exhibition’s three rooms will feature “adult” works for people over 18 years of age.
“The works of the first year of the Municipal Art Center’s operation will be united by the theme of “Art Lviv Hasn’t Had.” They will all be accompanied by parallel discussion and artist talks, educational programs and collaborations, that will provide even deeper immersion into the exposition. Our objective – together with the Center’s curators and our expert board – is to make this space as open as possible, and as free as possible to expression, while also keeping difficult topics at the forefront. I think our first exhibition, “Why Lviv Will Have Women Artists” will do a good job of elevating this discourse and making it city-wide” – said Center Director Liana Mytsko.
WHY THERE WILL BE WOMEN ARTISTS IN LVIV (TEXTS FROM EXHIBITION)
The Lviv Municipal Arts Center opened at No. 11, Stefanyka St. on October 19. The modern cultural space comprises a gallery with 100 sq. meters of exhibition space, a lecture room, a media library, and a cafe. Work on the Center began in November, 2019.
The Center’s official website is www.lvivart.center.
Our public facebook page is www.facebook.com/lvivart.center.
Our Instagram: www.instagram.com/lvivart.center.