36th Feminist Seminar: “Feminist Art History Through Exhibitions: Current Practices”

 

While strategic essentialism dominated in Western Europe in the 1970s and the now-famous exhibitions of women’s art were emerging, the situation in our part of the region looked somewhat different. As research by Professor Agata Jakubowska shows, exhibitions of women’s art had been held in Poland since the late 19th century—including during the interwar period and under state socialism—often within the framework of official professional associations. They were sometimes accompanied by a narrative concerning women’s labor, as in the case of one of the earliest presentations of this type: Exhibitions of Women’s Work, organized at the Museum of Industry and Agriculture in Warsaw in 1877.

During the late socialist period, alongside official initiatives, independent exhibitions of women’s art also emerged: Women’s Art (ON Gallery, Poznań, 1980), curated by Izabella Gustowska and Krystyna Piotrowska. This trend was also echoed by an international exhibition organized by Natalia LL in 1978 in Wrocław at the PSP Jatki Gallery. A renewed interest in exhibitions presenting the work of people identifying as women emerged in Poland after the transition period, alongside the development of feminist art history.

 

In recent years, new curatorial models have emerged in feminist practice that go beyond Western research paradigms. Increasingly, topics related to the very organization of exhibitions—such as care, collaboration, and inclusivity—are also at the center of discussion.

 

We encourage you to take a critical look at exhibitions organized from the perspective of feminist art history that have been presented in Poland in recent years—both large, comprehensive ones and smaller projects that have not received nationwide attention. We invite you to discuss what a feminist exhibition is today and what methods exist for creating a feminist narrative through and within an exhibition—and perhaps also the necessity of going beyond the narrative itself and viewing the exhibition as an organizational whole.