November 23, 2021
Women in the visual arts in Chile (2010–2020), is the title of the bilingual (Spanish/English) publication that brings together more than 80 women from the visual arts. Envisaged as a bilingual dissemination platform, from which the work of 61 artists and collectives can be reviewed, showing pieces from the last decade, it also allows 22 theorists, curators, and managers to establish a dialogue between the visual arts and their writing.
The publication, Women in the visual arts in Chile (2010–2020), is an editorial project driven by the Program for the Enhancement and Development of the Visual Arts, belonging to the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, carried out exclusively by female voices, to promote equitable spaces for the recognition and visibility of female artists and intellectuals who have actively worked in the field of the visual arts through a decentralized and interdisciplinary perspective.
It is a well-known fact that the presence of women has, historically, been far below that of men across diverse areas of the artistic realm. In the visual arts, this disparity is reflected in the low percentage of women who are included in public collections, become recipients of national awards and are featured in publications. An idea was born in response to this gap, to develop a publication that would identify, acknowledge, and share part of the extensive work produced by women in the visual arts in Chile.
Painting, sculpture, textile, sound art, performance, photography, installations, and community art, are all part of the diverse array of disciplines which are presented alongside explanatory texts, contributing to the correct reading of the selected works and allowing the audience to connect with them via several “nuclei of meaning”; a series of dialogues generated between the authors of the texts and the artists or collectives that come together in the book’s 400 pages. In this way, the publication seeks to produce critical reflection and knowledge, strengthening our understanding of a diverse, prolific universe in terms of perspective, focus, and creative practice.
This work was supported by an editorial committee, which includes Gloria Cortés Aliaga, art historian and curator of the National Museum of Fine Arts; Soledad Novoa Donoso, art historian and director of the Cerrillos National Center for Contemporary Art; Carolina Olmedo Carrasco, researcher and teacher of contemporary Latin American art; Mariairis Flores Leiva, art theorist and independent curator; and Varinia Brodsky Zimmermann, visual arts coordinator at the Undersecretary of Culture and the Arts.
The publication was launched online by feminist theorist and critic, Karen Cordero, and visual artist, Cecilia Vicuña, accompanied by a powerful program of actions, performances, conversations and previews which have been broadcasted on the platform “Elige Cultura.”
The book is being distributed free of charge to public libraries, museums, and art schools and is now available in PDF format, on the Ministry’s website.
For more information: artesdelavisualidad [at] cultura.gob.cl
