03/09/2024
International Women’s Day facts for ya:
“Sexism reaches into the grave. If you’re a dead female artist, you’re still playing catch-up with the guys,” -Shankar Vedantam
In 2015, a study conducted by World Press Photo, the University of Stirling, and Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Photojournalism found that in all of the art world not just photography, women’s work is considered less valuable and desirable.
A painting by a woman will sell much less than a painting by a man; at a discount of 42.1%, to be precise.
Sadly, it does seem that patrons’ perceptions play a huge role in the persistence of the gap. The study found that affluent people who visit art galleries, “especially men,” are said to rate art as “less compelling” if they’re told it was created by a female artist.
Women, not surprisingly, make more of an effort than their male peers. More of them are university educated, more engaged in social media, more versatile in terms of technology used, and more digitally savvy.
Sources-NPR, The New York Times
Photo of me and some Of my cameras thru the years in men’s attire