Women’s Equality Day is Aug 26th, and I thought I would share about equality in the arts. As I was in my graduate studies in art at Colorado State University, I began to see a trend in the history of Western Art. The demographic that was overwhelmingly represented were male artists. According to the Public Library of Science, permanent collections of 18 prominent U.S. art museums represent artists that are 87% male and 85% white. Being a female artist, I had never questioned before that there might be an underrepresentation of women in the arts. Certainly, there have been many women artists creating throughout history. Why were men being recognized and supported as artists so much more than women?
It is not lost on me that women may have double standards placed on them in our Western culture. The expectations of raising a child, earning a living wage, providing food, and housekeeping are already a hefty task, not to mention the ongoing necessity of trying to fit in self-care. Even if the woman has a supporting partner, it can be difficult to create time in your day to make art, but not impossible.
When my daughter was a toddler, I was completing a painting to submit to a local art exhibition. As any mother knows, reining in a toddler is an Olympic feat, and I also had a 75x30” painting in tow as I was walking up to the venue to register for the exhibition. There was an older man in his seventies also in line, and in a very flippant manner, said, “You should be home raising that child.” I remember feeling my face flush as the shame of this comment washed over me. I immediately began to question my worth as a mother and if, in fact, being an artist also was somehow creating a negative impact on my daughter.
Today as my 15-year-old daughter grows into an incredibly creative, mature, and kind young woman, I know that my artistic pursuits have helped to influence and shape her in a positive way. I am proud of how I am raising her, and maybe when she is my age the scales will tip to more equality for women in the art world.
“After I decided to be an artist, the first thing I had to believe was that I, a black woman, could penetrate the art scene, and that, further, I could do so without sacrificing one iota of my blackness or my femaleness or my humanity.”― Elizabeth Catlett, Women Artists of Color
Women’s Equality day is a National Day of celebration! By a joint resolution of Congress in 1971, August 26 of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day. Click here to learn more
-written by Rachal Davis
Living Her Legacy portrait artist and Art Director
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