My mind is divided over an initiative in Virginia called “Minds Wide Open,” which is under the financial aegis of the Virginians for the Arts Foundation. Between March and June, Virginia, through MWO, is celebrating “Women in the Arts” statewide, in a series of events planned by various groups and venues.
The celebration is apparently an outgrowth of roundtable meetings among 22 Virginia large arts groups in 2007: They decided to collaborate to raise the visibility of the arts. They chose women for their first attempt, this year, because it was “the most engaging and accessible theme” discussed.
So, for example, the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk is showing Women of the Chrysler: A 400-Year Celebration of the Arts, which it calls
an extraordinary new exhibition dedicated to the works of women artists – all of them drawn from our permanent collection. The exhibition traces the course of women’s ever-expanding contributions to the arts in Europe, America, and eventually the world through four chronological sections and three centerpiece installations, which are on view from March 24 to July 18.
It includes works by Harriet Cany Peale, Mary Cassatt, Käthe Kollwitz, Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus, Louise Nevelson, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Cappy Thompson. That’s Ilse Bing’s New York, the Elevated, and Me, from 1936, above.
As the MWO literature says, “Any individual or group can participate by presenting at least one public program–including plays, choreography, compositions, and exhibitions of paintings, photography or films that have been created by women or feature women as the primary focus.” More than 4,500 performances, exhibitions and other “opportunities” have been registered — everything from an after-school performing arts program for teenage girls in
So what’s my problem with this? I’ve often advocated for regional collaboration among arts groups.
On the other hand, I don’t believe in ghettoizing women artists. Does this celebration raise their profile, or patronize them? Unclear. And it doesn’t help that the theme for next year is “Virginia Celebrates Children And the Arts.” Some people are going to read right over the difference between “In” and “And.” Can you imagine a celebration of men in the arts?
In the end, it all depends on the execution, which is likely to be inconsistent.
I do commend Virginia for trying to raise the profile of the arts, and making much of its thinking available to others. Minds Wide Open has a website with helpful guidelines, templates, logos, and other resources. And you can read a couple of press releases here and here.
Photo Credits: Courtesy the Chrysler Museum (top); Minds Wide Open (bottom).