Inspire me
International Women’s Day 2023: The Global Edit
Where the female and non-binary experience differs so vastly across continents, countries, cities and, at its very base, the self, it has never been more important to champion women in a way that fits an ever-evolving society. With this in mind, we've taken a global approach this International Women's Day, and turned to a handpicked selection of art industry voices to hear about their experiences and celebrate their achievements past, present and future.
Erin Peacock
Wednesday 1 March, 2023
It’s essential to consider the experiences of female artists and industry professionals from every perspective – from the individual to the global. So, to mark International Women’s Day 2023, we’ve been speaking to artists, gallerists and the (coincidentally 83% female) Affordable Art Fair team, to highlight female success stories from around the world.
Join us for a trip across four continents to celebrate amazing, change-making work by women.
Melbourne
When our Melbourne team were tasked with highlighting their standout moments from 2022, it was no shock to see Rowena Martinich’s name mentioned consistently. Designated queen of colour, Martinich’s work spans intimate, bespoke pieces for interiors, to giant public murals. Her impressive colour-scapes have touched more than just her base in Melbourne; they have transformed universities, train stations, shopping centres and restaurants internationally.
Last year, Martinich joined us at Affordable Art Fair Melbourne with Martinich&Carran, the gallery she co-owns with partner Geoffrey Carran. Their stand was a vibrant, energy-filled space that drew lots of visitors looking to refresh their walls. And it wasn’t just the extraordinary art that impressed the team, but Martinich’s ability to have a record-breaking year as both an artist and a gallery, all with a baby in-tow!
Whilst the number of mother-artist role models has increased over time, there are still apprehensions about the perceived limitations of motherhood on an artistic career. Martinich’s baby’s presence within the space of an art fair is an important representational move towards accessibility, inspiring the sense that motherhood has deepened a devotion to her craft as opposed to being a hinderance. In the same way, it might act as a comfort to those hoping to become mothers that ambitions or artistic identity won’t diminish upon the lifestyle change as much as women are told, in that age-old myth, that you must choose between maintaining a career or a family.
United Kingdom
Heading over to the UK, we’re so excited to serendipitously launch Affordable Art Fair Battersea Spring on International Women’s Day 2023 (8 March). This year, the team have organised an exhibition of inspiring female talent that will take centre-stage at the lively Battersea Park, making it easy to narrow your search for a new artist to obsess over and support.
From a bold, impressive list of artists, we’re taking a second to highlight the work of Mekia Machine, a New York-based multidisciplinary artist specialising in visuals, sound art, painting and composing music. The sheer number of talents she possesses really gives the gawp-factor. With a preference for colour blocking, her bold, figurative paintings explore identity, culture and the senses.
“Knowing Mekia personally as both a woman and an artist, so much of her infectious energy and inquiring mind exudes through her work. Each body of work is emotionally driven, woven with deep meaning, stories, and memories, which harness the collections together beautifully. ‘Above All Choose You’ is from the series Still The Sky is Blue, which is about memories of home in Jamaica, capturing black bodies at ease, soft, supple and free — painting these people into history. I learn so much from Mekia, and the way she moves through the world as a Jamaican immigrant, artist, and queer woman of colour. I feel that we are growing together every day.”
Anna Smithson, found and Director of Smithson Gallery
With so many incredible female artists set to be showcased at the fair, it won’t be an easy task for the team to curate their full list for the display. Expect to see Clare Bonnet, Iryna Yermalova, Lisa Krannichfeld, Lola Dupre, Margaux Carpentier, Nana Shiomi and Samantha Mitchell displayed loudly and proudly alongside Mekia.
Amsterdam
On the docklands of Kompaseiland in Amsterdam, you’ll find Rademakers Gallery, an open-minded, female-focused space that proudly champions all things art and design. Their artists range from the eminent to the emerging, but one thing they all have in common is that they exist at the cutting-edge end of contemporary. Gallery founder, Pien Rademakers, has a passion for presenting colourful, feminine artworks, and supporting her roster of female artists in growing their careers.
With all this in mind, we felt it was the perfect time to reflect on why Pien fosters this as her mission. She told us:
“Thirty years ago when I was studying art history, I only learned about male artists. That’s frustrating and I want to make a difference. It’s sad to hear that 80% of female art students will never be as successful as their male counterparts. I think we’re on the right track, but I don’t want it to stop.”
Owning a gallery is a risky business, and owning a gallery as a woman is (sadly) even riskier. In the current art market, decision makers are still so often men, so it traditionally takes twice as much effort, passion and strength to grow as a female gallerist. When asked why she thought this might be, Pien suggested:
“Male artists may have been more secure, therefore they have more trust in their own work and are not afraid of taking risks.”
We also see this through art history, and by taking a look back at the Dutch Golden Era of the 16th century, it’s evident that the experience of female artists has long been erased. Whilst male artists were painting chapels and cathedrals, work by women was seen as domestic and unrevolutionary when, in reality, there is a wealth of work that is beyond impressive and noteworthy. Judith Leyster, Maria Sibylla Merian and Clare Peeters, just to name a few, were bold and boundary-pushing. And the same can be said for female Dutch contemporary art today.
Rademakers are proud to represent Joana Schneider, Yamuna Forzani and new artist, Anne Mei Poppe. All three are pioneers of beautiful, change-making art. Forzani creates interdisciplinary work that is designed to be ‘genderful’; free from limiting gender stereotypes and social structures. Schnieder’s textile craftsmanship is sustainably-focused, spacious and puts a modern twist on the traditional. Anne Mei Poppe is a figurative artist whose paintings portray women in everyday situations, which links beautifully back to Dutch artistic traditions of astute, domestic observation as essential to the art world.
A huge thanks to Rademakers Gallery for taking the time to speak with us about their incredible roster of female talent.
Hong Kong
As the Hong Kong team prepare for their celebratory 10th edition this May, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to shout out an incredible artist who has been with them throughout the journey.
Eleanor McColl has been a returning face for ten years of Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong. A multidisciplinary artist with a passion for the everyday, anonymous aspects of city living, her work explores the urban environment with expert observation and a sympathetic viewpoint.
She moved to Hong Kong in 1999 to explore career opportunities outside her home country of England. Her work is identifiable by its soft-focus, flash-like use of colour and blurred edges reminiscent of forgotten memories.
About the collection she’ll be bringing to Hong Kong, Eleanor notes that “I’m preoccupied by colour and this series is no exception. Celebrated cultural sites and the humble patterns of life found in the city’s tenements are arrayed in a vibrant tangram of neon hues.”
Eleanor’s ‘Falancai Love’ is named after the pink Falancai bowl depicted in the painting, which is a famous ceramic from the Qing dynasty that uses enamels introduced by The West. Falancai translates as ‘foreign colour’, and the Emperor at the time was a huge art lover. Eleanor is always inspired by East meets West references, given that she has spent half of her life in Hong Kong.
We’re sending Eleanor the best of luck for her 10th Affordable Art Fair!
New York
JJ Galloway is an internationally collected artist known for her popular food-themed paintings. You can find her work shown all around the world. As well as being an amazing artist herself, she also runs an Affordable Art Fair visitor-favourite gallery: JJ Galloway Studios. When JJ mentioned to us that most of the artists she’ll be presenting at Affordable Art Fair NYC Spring 2023 were mother-artists (or mother-to-be artists!), we were excited to chat with her about their experiences. As a mother of two herself, she has an inherent understanding of both the joys and challenges associated with developing an artistic career alongside parenthood.
JJ makes it as easy as possible for her mother-artists to thrive in their careers whilst parenting, something (as you’ve seen!) we want to encourage at our fairs.
‘Nothing stops us from being artists. So many mother-artists get frustrated and panic, and as a gallerist I understand that it sometimes takes longer to get everything done. I make sure that I’m aware of what each artist can deliver and not over-ask.’
JJ’s enthusiasm for the artists she represents is unwaveringly clear. It wasn’t long before we were inundated with stories about their journeys.
Lisa Krannichfeld uses her expressive portraits to refute the traditional portrayal of women being the passive muse. This is very on-topic as it is, but we wanted to dig deeper. When asked if she finds any crossovers between the challenges of motherhood and the challenges she strives to overcome in her work, Lisa commented that there is definite overlap between the feeling that nothing is ever done and that successes are intangible.
“Mothering through the different stages of childhood development and tackling new bodies of work are also similar in the respect that they are each new puzzles to be solved.”
And this duality is also present in Lisa’s definition of what success means to her. Where ‘success’ has long been viewed through a male lens, there’s a ‘real world’ side “where you strive to be able to support yourself, pay your bills and live comfortably through the fruits of your labors; and then there’s the other side where you hope your work means something to yourself and its viewer”.
This perhaps more female-specific, nuanced view of ‘success’ might be improved by the prominence of more mother-artist role models as, for Erika Stearly, another of JJ’s artists, not many come to mind. Though, it’s important to analyse why this is. She says:
“While I do know women who are developing careers while raising children, our conversations tend to emphasize professional achievements over domestic ones. It could be that they’re simply thrilled to be having conversations with other adults, but I also wonder if there is an unconscious decision to de-emphasize parental responsibility so as to be taken more seriously as an artist.”
These barriers are all very real, and with gallerists such as JJ leading by example with a focus on accessibility, the industry will continue to improve so that the careers of all Affordable Art Fair artists can thrive no matter their parental status.
Thank you to JJ, Erika and Lisa for getting involved. We can’t wait to see their work at Affordable Art Fair NYC Spring.
It has been a total pleasure hearing from such a range of voices and discussing the art world through a global female lens. Where there is still so much to be done, and more ground to be covered than we could ever hope to fit into a blog, we hope you’re feeling as inspired as we are by Affordable Art Fair success stories from around the world.
Make sure to see them all in action at your next fair, and give them a follow on your socials to support their important work. Happy International Women’s Day!
Main image: Mekia Machine in her NYC-based studio.
