Against sexual harassment: women in art publish a letter of complaint

It is called Not surprised the initiative that women in the art world (women artists, critics, curators, gallery owners, museum directors, educators, writers, students) have launched to denounce the sexual harassment that occurs with impressive cadence even in the art environment. It is a letter of complaint (“not surprised” means “we are not surprised”) and has been signed by five thousand signatories, including a large number of men.

“We are not surprised,” the letter reads, “when curators offer exhibitions or support in exchange for sexual favors. We are not surprised when gallery owners romanticize, minimize, or conceal the sexual abuse of the artists they represent. We are not surprised when a meeting with a powerful collector or patron turns into a sexual proposition. We are not surprised when we are retaliated against for not indulging.” The letter, it is explained later in the text, stems from a discussion around the scandal that engulfed Knight Landesman, editor of Artforum magazine, who was accused of harassment by a former employee. However, “the resignation of the editor of a major magazine does not solve the larger and more insidious problem,” the letter continues: “an art world that maintains inherited power structures at the expense of ethical behavior. Such abuses, in the environment, happen frequently and on a large scale.”

The letter concludes with a “call” to institutions and colleagues to address the problem seriously in the future. The letter, along with its translations (the Italian one, however, is not yet available: a note informs that it will be shortly) can be read at www.not-surprised.org.

Image: Jenny Holzer, Abuse of Power Comes As No Surprise (1982). Ph. credit: John Marchael. Courtesy: Jane Dickson. © Jenny Holzer, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Against sexual harassment: women in art publish a letter of complaint

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