There are many women running art galleries and museums today because of the role women played volunteering in art institutions during the 21st century, said Andrea Terry, a Canadian studies postdoctoral fellow at Carleton.
The Friends of Art History Visual Culture Series hosted Terry’s lecture, “Curatorial Politics: Examining the Role of Women and Gender in Museums” in St. Patrick’s Building Nov. 18.
Examples of women running prestigious art institutions are evident across the country, campuses and at the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) with director Diana Nemiroff at the helm, Terry said in an email.
“My work examines the efforts of those who came before them — women who toiled, sometimes without pay, to keep such museums running,” Terry said.
During the mid-1900s, many women kept art institutions operational by taking on unpaid positions, Terry said. But women were often were replaced by men who were paid regular salaries, which demonstrated how society saw women’s role as voluntary rather than professional at the time, she said.
Men often focused on the business side of art while women were much more educated about museology, she added.
“As the decades have progressed and moving on into the 21st century, art historians have increasingly become interested in not only the work of women artists but also women museum workers,” Terry said.
Nemiroff said women play important roles in art galleries, but to a lesser extent as directors like her.
“Women are not represented in galleries proportionately to their demographic presence,” Nemiroff said in an email. “Women are less well represented by commercial galleries than men and so have fewer exhibitions that might bring them to the attention of public gallery curators.”
People sometimes think women are less dedicated to their careers because of child-rearing responsibilities, Nemiroff said. She said she hopes women will be able to obtain support structures to develop their careers.
Museums across Canada, university galleries and art organizations are all led by women, demonstrating the important role they play in today’s art galleries, CUAG curator Sandra Dyck said in an email.
“From my personal experience and observation of the field, I think there are many excellent opportunities for women in the curatorial field in Canada, in both historical and contemporary art,” Dyck said.
There seems to be more women in art history programs today and this is not only significant but also highly relevant, according to Terry.
“I think that there are so many opportunities in art historical studies to pursue avenues not yet uncovered, to expand your horizons, to broaden your understanding.”
