Intelligence Squared

The Futureverse: Undervalued – Is the Future of Art Female?

Sep 7, 2022

Join Katy Hessel, art historian and curator, Marine Tanguy, founder of MT Art Agency, and Princess Alia Al-Senussi, cultural strategist, as they dive into the undervaluation of female artists in a male-dominated market. They discuss striking statistics, like how 96.1% of auction sales are male artists, and the recent shifts in representation seen at events like the Venice Biennale. The conversation highlights efforts to break down institutional barriers, increase exposure for women in art, and empower the next generation of female creators.

42:31

Episode guests

Katy Hessel

Marine Tanguy

Princess Alia Al-Senussi

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Gender Disparities in the Art World

14min

Reimagining Art Collections: Embracing Diversity and Female Representation

3min

Shifting Dynamics: Gender Representation in the Art Auction World

2min

Rethinking Diversity in the Auction World

2min

Unequal Canvas: The Art Gender Gap

15min

Empowering the Next Generation of Female Artists

3min

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Until very recently, female artists have occupied a tiny space of the art market, undervalued and ignored. There are no women in the top 0.03% of the auction market, where 41% of the profit is concentrated. Overall, 96.1% of artworks sold at auction are by male artists. The most expensive work sold by a woman artist at auction, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, sold in 2014 for $44.4 million—over four hundred million dollars less than the auction record for a male artist: Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold in 2017 for $450.3 million, shattering the previous record of $179.4 million for a work by Picasso.

Now that’s changing. This year’s Venice Biennale was heavily skewed in favour of women for the first time ever. Historically, about 10% of artists in the main exhibition have tended to be women, rising to 30% in recent years; in 2019, the UK-based curator Ralph Rugoff’s exhibition achieved rough parity for the first time. Cecilia Alemani, curator of the 2022 Biennale, included approximately 90% female and gender non-conforming artists.

Who is driving this change? And how do we continue to make sure the work of female artists is given the recognition they deserve? Join Kamal Ahmed as he explores the role of women in the contemporary art market with art historian and broadcaster Katy Hessel, art historian and founder of ArtscapesUK Rose Balston, art market specialist Bojana Popovic, entrepreneur Marine Tanguy and patron and academic Princess Alia Al-Senussi.

The Futureverse is brought to you by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Y TREE. The past is in your head. The future is in your hands. For more information visit y-tree.com/futureverse

The Story of Art without Men by Katy Hessel:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-story-of-art-without-men/katy-hessel/9781529151145

Rose Balston’s ‘Old Mistresses’ lecture series:

https://artscapesuk.com/old-mistresses/

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