talia chetrit: mis(s)treated. mehr als deine muse!

In its new exhibition, the New Perceptions team of young curators is working with curators from the Kunsthalle to address the topic of the representation of female artists in the Kunsthalle. In doing so, it is focussing in particular on feminist positions. The focus is on works from the collection of the Kunsthalle Bremen, complemented by selected loans of contemporary art.

“Why have there been no great women artists?” This provocative question was posed by US art historian Linda Nochlin in 1971, laying the foundation for feminist art history. In her essay, she was one of the first to examine how women artists have been structurally discriminated against and excluded from exhibitions and museums. One of the consequences of this has been that women have long been popular subjects, but rarely figured as artists. Though the situation has improved somewhat over the past 54 years – thanks to ongoing struggles for women’s rights, which also extend into the cultural sector – works by women artists are still underrepresented in museums, including the Kunsthalle Bremen.

In the exhibition “Mis(s)treated”, the New Perceptions team of young curators, together with curators from the Kunsthalle, is therefore exploring for the first time the representation of female positions in the museum. In doing so, it draws attention to feminist perspectives that are rarely included in the permanent exhibition. Works from the collection of the Kunsthalle – many of which have rarely or never been displayed – are presented alongside loans from contemporary women artists, filling in some of the gaps and offering previously missing perspectives.

The exhibition explores how since the 19th century women artists have gradually claimed their space, breaking free from maledominated art history and enriching both the art world and societal debates with their unique perspectives. Themes such as the body, identity, gender roles, care work and sexualized violence, which might otherwise have been mostly ignored, are brought to the forefront.