Monday, March 7, 2016

The Countess Report




On Tuesday 8 March 2016, coinciding with International Women’s Day, CoUNTess will release a new report on gender representation in the contemporary visual arts. The report reveals that there is a continuing imbalance of power in the art world, with men holding more positions at senior levels and male artists significantly better represented by commercial galleries.  

The Countess Report is a benchmarking project and online resource on gender equality in the Australian contemporary art sector. Put together by Elvis Richardson, it compiles and analyses data on education, prizes, funding, art media, organisational makeup, and exhibitions of various kinds across a wide range of galleries including national and State, regional, commercial, ARIs (Artist Run Galleries), and CAOs (Contemporary Art Spaces). The Countess Report is based on publically available data collected from websites, exhibition catalogues, magazines and media in the calendar year 2014 - a year chosen because the data set is recent, complete and still readily available. Detailed findings now available in The Countess Report offer evidence of gender disparity in the arts that was not previously available, and provide test-case samples for future benchmarking.

The Countess Report was conducted by Elvis Richardson, through the initiative and research funding of the Cruthers Art Foundation and assistance provided by NAVA, and an Advisory Committee composed of Dr. Eva Cox AODr. Jacqueline MilnerTamara Winikoff OAM, Amanda Rowell and John Cruthers,who have overseen the Countess Report and provided invaluable guidance and assistance.  

SEE THE REPORT HERE @ http://thecountessreport.com.au