“GENDER ALARM!” and “Brain Child” Canadian Exhibitions

This exhibition takes place in La Centrale Gallery in Montreal, Canada. The gallery was created by three women in 1973 who placed a billboard ad calling for women artists. Their goal was to meet and discuss the difficulties women artists face in being recognized in the art world. Now the gallery is one of the foremost feminist galleries and has recently reached out to include masculine studies, Third-World feminist and an emphasis on race, class and sex. Brain Child is the most recent exhibition, by Allyson Mitchell, which includes 1980s ceramic figurines, like Strawberry Shortcake displayed on the page. She uses these figurines to delve into our society’s notions of women’s intelligence. While seemingly innocent and childish, these toys and precious breakable figurines have a lot to say about the creation of childhood. Growing up I remember owning a few breakable dolls, and placing them on pedestals. I wish I could find more photos of these two exhibits, but they’re too current. And as I’ve discovered all semester that women artists such as these aren’t really sought after and recognized even in today’s media. Check out the links!

La Centrale Gallery website
Link to the current programs for the year