In honor of International Women’s Day 2012, I thought it would be an appropriate time to acknowledge and thank all the women in my life who have made such an impact on me, as well as to tip my hat to the women artists who have influenced my work.

I’ll never forget sitting in one of my seminar classes during grad school when a heated debate erupted about the (ir)relevance of feminism. The debate was sparked by complaints regarding a student-led project in the school’s atrium that featured four male artists setting up “studio” in the communal space. One view was that this kind of project perpetuated the hegemonic ideal of the male artist and the set-up of the project did not allow for other groups to truly enter the conversation. One of the male students leading the project was in my seminar group and was absolutely furious that this view of his project had been taken, and insisted that had four women undertaken this project it would be grossly unfair to criticize it. At this point, our seminar leader entered the debate and simply said (I paraphrase), “The unfortunate reality is that although 80% of the student body is female, in five years after graduation only a small percentage of these women will have opportunities to actively exhibit, to attain the stature of their male counterparts, and to actively influence this art world that is still, in large, dominated by men.” Although I feel the debate around the aforementioned project in the school’s atrium was complex and the male students who put it together certainly had a right to feel they were being made an example, the words of my instructor still ring true in my ears.

Here’s to all of the women artists past, present and future, who have and continue to provide a forum for women to participate, to voice our ideas, and to positively contribute to the art/world around us.

Happy International Women’s Day!