It is a watershed moment for awareness of workplace sexual harassment and as many working artists know, the art world is no exception. Recently, Artforum’s famed publisher resigned amongst multiple sexual harassment accusations and artists around the world stepped forward to collectively respond by saying it’s “no surprise.”
Earlier last week, thousands of artists came together to call out flagrant violations of power and inequitable access to the art world. The Clark Hulings Foundation stands with the artists taking part in the #nosurprise campaign. CHF’s mission is directly positioned around these ideas with the goal of supporting and bringing access, opportunity, and control of one’s career to working professional artists. We facilitate the collective networking of artists around the world, and arm them with the tools they need to succeed, free of harassment and coercion.
While women in the art world suffer from workplace sexual harassment like in any other profession, the value of their artwork can also suffer. They must fight harder for access to galleries, museums, and representation to showcase their work, too often at the hands of coercive art world overseers. The fight is even harder for women of color and queer women, whose artwork is often placed in even more restrictive boxes, when in fact their work extends far beyond any one person’s particular identity.
CHF celebrates the diversity of artists. As we continue our work of supporting artists, we do so through the lens of promoting equal access and opportunity in the art world, regardless of gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Art is a business and artists should run it—plain and simple.
