Feminist Art Program

Feminist Art Program
Name	Feminist Art Program
Established	1970
Founders	Jill Krementz; Judy Chicago; Miriam Schapiro
Location	Los Angeles, New York City
Type	Art education, collective

Feminist Art Program

The Feminist Art Program emerged in the early 1970s as a pioneering initiative within CalArts, California Institute of the Arts, and other institutions to foreground women artists and challenge prevailing norms in MoMA-centric and Whitney-focused narratives. It connected activists from the NOW movement, artists associated with Fluxus, educators from UCLA and CSU Fresno, and curators from the LACMA and Brooklyn Museum to create courses, workshops, and collaborative projects. The program fostered relationships with critics from Artforum, policymakers in New York City Hall, and artists involved with Women Artists in Revolution and the Guerrilla Girls.

History and Origins

The origins trace to faculty and students at California Institute of the Arts and the SAIC influenced by protests at Guggenheim Museum, sit-ins at Wadsworth Atheneum, and consciousness-raising groups linked to Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan. Early meetings included participants with ties to Black Panther Party, SNCC, and feminist collectives who organized demonstrations outside Metropolitan Museum and Tate Modern satellite programs. The program drew inspiration from pedagogues at Black Mountain College, collaborations with Allan Kaprow-aligned performance artists, and institutional critiques promoted by scholars at Columbia University and Harvard University.

Structure and Curriculum

Courses combined studio practice influenced by Eva Hesse and Helen Frankenthaler with theory from readings by Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and bell hooks. Seminars incorporated lectures by visiting figures from BAM, techniques from Anni Albers textile practice, and historical surveys referencing Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassatt, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Assignments ranged from performance pieces inspired by Marina Abramović to printmaking methods associated with Käthe Kollwitz and collaborative mural projects like those by Diego Rivera-influenced collectives. The curriculum emphasized collective authorship modeled on Société Anonyme-style exhibitions and community outreach practiced by Art in General.

Key Figures and Participants

Founders and organizers included figures with crossovers into institutions such as CSU Long Beach, UCLA Arts, and curatorial roles at MOCA. Notable participants and affiliates encompassed artists and activists associated with Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, Suzanne Lacy, Faith Ringgold, Yvonne Rainer, Sherrie Levine, Nancy Spero, Carolee Schneemann, Adrienne Rich, Cindy Sherman, Ana Mendieta, Lynda Benglis, Barbara Kruger, Kara Walker, Maya Lin, Lucy Lippard, Hannah Wilke, Mierle Ukeles, Dorothea Tanning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Eva Hesse, Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Mary Beth Edelson, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Alma Thomas, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, Catherine Opie, Nan Goldin, Mona Hatoum, Marina Abramović, Yoko Ono, Carolee Schneemann, Faith Ringgold, Suzanne Lacy, Kiki Smith, Alison Saar, Rachel Whiteread, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Bloom, Diane Arbus, Tracey Emin, Pipilotti Rist, Martha Rosler, Joan Semmel, Ellen Gallagher, Kara Walker, Sonia Boyce, Kiki Kogelnik, Pat Steir, Ruth Asawa.

Major Projects and Exhibitions

The program produced landmark exhibitions and projects in venues such as LACMA, Whitney Museum, MoMA, Brooklyn Museum, and alternative spaces like The Kitchen and Women’s Building. Signature projects included collaborative installations referencing The Dinner Party, process-based performances in collaboration with Fluxus practitioners, and traveling shows that toured to Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Stedelijk Museum, Hayward Gallery, and Palais de Tokyo. Workshops resulted in catalogues and biennial presentations at Venice Biennale, community murals in partnership with Murals of Los Angeles initiatives, and public programming hosted by ICA London.

Influence and Legacy

The program influenced museum hiring and acquisition policies at institutions including MCA Chicago, SFMOMA, and National Gallery of Art as well as curriculum reforms at Yale School of Art, RISD, Pratt Institute, Cooper Union, and Barnard College. It seeded networks connecting alumni to curatorial posts at Tate Britain, Hamburger Bahnhof, and policy roles in arts councils like NEA. Scholarship by historians at Smithsonian Institution, Getty Research Institute, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art archives has traced lines from the program to contemporary movements involving participants in Black Lives Matter-adjacent art activism, collaborative pedagogy at Goldsmiths, and intersectional projects led by researchers affiliated with Columbia University and UC Berkeley.

Critiques and Controversies

Critiques emerged from scholars and artists associated with bell hooks, Angela Davis, and Cherríe Moraga who argued about representation, inclusivity, and the centering of certain figures over others; debates occurred in journals like Artforum, October, and Women & Performance. Controversies included disputes over authorship reminiscent of legal battles involving estates represented in cases at Second Circuit and editorial disagreements with publishers such as Routledge and MIT Press. Internal tensions paralleled critiques launched by activists in ACT UP and community organizers linked to Asian American Arts Centre and El Museo del Barrio about access for women of color, trans artists, and artists from Indigenous communities.

Category:Feminist art