October 15, 2008

The Art World Doesn't Treat Women Equally

Not surprising, but certainly depressing.

Certain women, too, currently hold an enormous amount of power in the art world – but they tend to be outnumbered by their male counterparts. Lists like Art Review's Power 100, published today, show that a select few women are instrumental in making the artworld tick, but their number is underwhelming compared to the number of men: 15 women appear on the first half of this year's list, including four collectors, four gallerists, three curators, two auctioneers and two art fair organisers; seven of these 15 are paired with a man with whom they share their position.

On average per year, there is a 70/30 split in favour of men, and it gets worse in the top 10, where few if any women feature. This year MoMA associate director Kathy Halbreich is the highest-ranking woman, in at number three, and she's the first to appear on her own in the top 10 for five years.

Sadly, however, only three out of the 30 artists featured in the Power 100 are female, and these three all appear in the second half of the list, whereas five male artists appear in the first quartile alone.
Will women artists ever get the respect they deserve? (The Guardian)