International Women's Day
On International Women’s Day, this is a celebration of women we have worked with this past year at Melanie Roger Gallery.
Working with and championing women artists has always been important to me. It’s been a conscious choice to support both their art practices as well as them personally to have a work / life balance - a policy that extends to all the artists we work with but is often more of a juggle for women.
It’s who I am too - as a mother to a daughter and as a woman in the art world - it’s my story as well. Because - speaking personally as a Gen X woman - I’ve had my share of glass ceilings and blatant misogyny in the art world to tackle too. And as a working mother and a lone parent, it hasn’t been easy. But that’s why I care. That’s why I want to support younger generations coming through. I’ve been there. I get it.
In recent times there has been more support and recognition of women in the arts. There have been a few very good public gallery exhibitions - most notably perhaps “Modern Women: Flight of Time” curated by Julia Waite at the AAG that highlighted the leading role women artists have played in shaping the development of modern art in Aotearoa New Zealand through seizing control of their own representation.
It does seem to have been a bloody long time coming though and really, has there been enough change and reflection? I don’t think so. Because although a number of gallerists such as myself back up the rhetoric with support for women artists, it doesn’t always translate into public gallery support or support from collectors - many whom still view male art as more worthy and collectible. Just run the numbers and look at the stats if you don’t believe me - price points for women’s art vs men’s art, representation in public collections and representation in commercial gallery spaces. It is slowly changing though thankfully. But it is a conversation that still needs to be had. Let’s hope not forever.
Notes:
This is not even a comprehensive list of women we have worked with this year as I ran out of slides. Oops. Sorry.
This is a big topic…much wider than an insta post and one day a year. Talk about it. Often.
