The Exhibition as a Critical Tool: Guerrilla Girls’ Practices between Activism and Institution since 1985

Abstract

After tracing the emergence of the Guerrilla Girls, beginning with their early posters that addressed gender disparities in the art field, this article focuses on the 1986 exhibition Guerrilla Girls Review the Whitney, bringing to light the intersectional dimensions of their activism, linking gender and race. Finally, the text explores the collective’s practice of institutional critique, exposing possible conflicts of interest and structural exclusions, thus incorporating race-related and class-related concerns, and reflecting on how their positioning both inside and outside institutions has challenged their own strategies as well as the structures of the art scene.

Keywords
Guerrilla Girls, Feminist Art Activism, Institutional Critique, Gendered and Racialized Exclusion, Guerrilla Girls Review the Whitney