Five exhibitions to attend this Women’s History Month
International Women’s Day is an annual celebration of the achievements of women. This year’s campaign theme is Embrace Equality, drawing attention to the fight for equal opportunities across all genders. Trades Union Congress reported in February 2023 that the gender pay gap results in women working two days a year for free on average, in comparison to their male colleagues. This is just one of the injustices amplified by the global event, which draws attention to the deeply rooted unbalance across society. We select five exhibitions to attend this Women’s History Month, from portraits that challenges art historical symbolism to photomontages that push forward understandings of gender representation.
Tell Me What You Remember | Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
The “Born Free” generation are South African people who were born after the end of Apartheid in 1994. Lebohang Kganye (b. 1990) falls into this age group. The artist uses experimental photography as a tool to navigate the multiplicity of identity, as well as recollections of the past. Grainy snaps are pulled from the family album and disrupted. Ghostly outlines of Kganye appear like double-exposures, as she physically inserts herself into the picture, replicating her mother’s clothing and pose. The multi-layered collection is found alongside Sue Williamson’s (b. 1941) reflections on inherited narratives, offering a cross-generational conversation on memory, self-narration and representation. Until 21 May.
