Manchester Art Gallery took action when it emerged that just 8.5% of its permanent paintings collection were by women, writes Josh Sandiford. With the proportion of female artists' representation across other UK museums estimated at 10.8%, how can civic institutions address questions about power and privilege?
'An art gallery has unveiled two new works in an attempt to address its gender imbalance, where less than 10% of its permanent collection are by women. The self-portraits by the Cape Town-based visual artist Berni Searle have been added to the permanent collection at Manchester Art Gallery, in a move to extend “the discourse around representation and identity”.
Untitled (Red) and In wake were donated by the art collector and philanthropist Valeria Napoleone, who only collects art by women, as part of a scheme to redress criticisms of a historical lack of female representation.
In the joint initiative by Napoleone and the Contemporary Art Society, known as VNXXCAS, they will purchase and donate a significant work by a living female artist each year to a UK museum.
In line with most of the UK’s galleries, Manchester Art Gallery has relatively few works by female artists but many depicting women, especially nude. Many are created by men for male patrons.' ... Keep reading on The Guardian