The Glasgow Girls and the Problem of Token Shows
There are three new posts this week, and two of them left me wondering: is five works really enough to call something an exhibition?
Let’s start in Edinburgh, where I visited the Scottish National Gallery’s display on The Glasgow Girls. It features exquisitely detailed works by Jessie M King and Annie French, as well as Olive Carleton-Smyth’s Bacchanale, which brings bold colour and movement into the mix. But there are just five works in total. Tucked onto a single wall, surrounded by rooms full of male artists.
If I’d visited before Bacchanale was acquired earlier this year, would there only have been four?
Then over to Glasgow, where Margot Sandeman’s work is on show at Kelvingrove. Again: five pieces. Beautiful, thoughtful pieces that are evocative of Arran—but still, just five.
There’s no official minimum number of works that makes something an “exhibition,” and I understand that sometimes small shows can be intentional, powerful, even intimate. But this? This felt like a pattern. A recurring, disappointing one.
It’s hard not to see it as a box-ticking exercise. A nod toward gender parity in programming without the substance to back it up. Yes, women’s names are on the marketing. Yes, there’s a wall text praising how progressive the Glasgow School of Art was for welcoming women. But when only a handful of works are shown — when they’re boxed into a corner, or added as a gesture — it rings hollow.
Surely the National Galleries of Scotland have more than five works by these artists in their collections. And if not, why not? And what are they doing to change that?
Speaking of visibility…
I hit a frustrating wall this week when trying to find an image of Olive Carleton-Smyth to include on the artist page of Women Making Art. After an extensive search, nothing turned up. Not one image of the artist herself. Hopefully there is a picture of Carleton-Smyth tucked away somewhere that hasn’t made its way onto the internet just yet.
It can often be difficult to find an artists photo, even with contemporary artists, but this is the first time I’ve not been able to find a single image of an artist.
I find it really sad, especially for women artists who are already at risk of being forgotten or overlooked. I know not everyone likes being in front of the camera. But visibility matters. For future researchers. For audiences trying to connect the face to the work. For preservation.
So, if you’re an artist and you haven’t already: get some pictures of yourself online. Even just one or two. It matters more than you might think.
Also on the site:
Joanne Masding at Bluecoat, Liverpool – a richly layered, ceramic-and-sculpture-packed show full of texture and conceptual play.
Looking ahead: Aïda Muluneh’s The Necessity of Seeing
I missed this exhibition while it was in Bradford, but thankfully it’s touring, and I’ll be seeing it later this year at Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow. It’s part of Nationhood: Memory and Hope, and features Muluneh’s visually arresting photography that blends Afrofuturism, politics, and tradition.
If you’re not familiar with her work, this short video is a brilliant introduction. Muluneh is an extraordinary artist and thinker, and this show should be on your list if it comes anywhere near you.