US feminist art activists at Art Basel Hong Kong bring their fight against sexism and racism to Asia
Tireless feminists the Guerrilla Girls wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humour and outrageous visuals to expose gender, ethnic bias and corruption in art – and they’ve already made an impact at Art Basel Hong Kong 2018
There is little chance of hearing contrarian views about the way the art market works amid the shouts of recognition, air kisses and champagne glasses clinking at Art Basel Hong Kong.
And outside the social niceties there is even less. The real business of the day at the region’s biggest contemporary art fair is necessarily single-minded – the dealers are out to convince billionaires to buy works such as Willem de Kooning’s Untitled XII (1975), which sold on the opening day for US$35 million.
Art Basel Hong Kong opens with sale of US$35 million painting
But then three women wearing gorilla masks arrive just in time to bring serious provocation.
They are members of the Guerrilla Girls, the tireless feminist art activist group founded in New York in 1985. More than 55 people have been members over the years. Like all members, these three masked crusaders go by the names of female artists they admire to preserve their anonymity. The women using the pseudonyms “Frida Kahlo” and “Kathe Kollwitz” were among the original founders, while “Zubeida Agha” joined about 10 years ago.
Kahlo says the art world has changed little since 1985, when she and fellow female artists were so shocked by a 1984 survey on the dismal representation of women and minorities at the Museum of Modern Art that they staged a protest outside the museum.
