Transnational perspectives on women’s art, feminism and curating

This was a Leverhulme-funded research network of major international galleries, museums and academic institutions on the theme of transnational perspectives on women's art, feminism and curating, formed to establish an international community of scholars and curators who would begin to develop that analysis.

The main aim of the network was to share information and forge shared intellectual languages to develop a research practice, language and community that can accommodate the challenges presented by a globalised field of study.

Part of the work of the grant was to document the partners' activities within a series of online resources, to include: webcasts or podcasts of public symposia talks; reports on the proceedings of network seminars; and an email discussion group accessible to any interested researcher.

Partners

The network partners included two major museums whose research profile includes work on curating and collections- the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington D.C. and Tate Modern in London - as well as academic institutions with a special interest in feminism and art studies, including the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative at Concordia University in Montreal, and the Department of Art History at the University of Stockholm.

The inclusion of museums and curators in the network alongside universities was designed to ensure that the viewpoints of practising curators were included, and to create collegial exchange between researchers in different institutional settings.

For further, detailed information on the network, please see the website at https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/tnpwafc/

The network organised three symposia and four workshops allowing researchers:

• to chart the research and analysis that is taking place across northern Europe and North America on feminism and curating;

• opportunities to develop the critical and conceptual tools for studying the work of curating in relation to feminism; and

• address specific historical and political issues in the history of art interpretation and feminism in the three regions included in the network (North America, northern Europe and post-communist Europe).

As the network matured, the contacts included researchers and research from around the world and provided a platform for rapid evolution of the subject internationally.

The culmination of the eighteen-month research network project, Transnational perspectives on women’s art, feminism and curating, was a symposium at Tate Modern, London with concurrent workshop and exhibition. A parallel exhibition, programme of events and celebration was held at the University of Brighton’s Grand Parade venue and a publication was produced.