Artists: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Machiko Agano, Miho Akioka, Mitsuko Asakura, Keiko Asaoka, Eirinni, Masa Fukami, Miran Fukuda, Machiko Hara, Michie Harada, Kaoru Hirabayashi, Yasuko Iba, Leiko Ikemura, Sachiko Ishibashi, Harumi Isobe, Etsuko Kawamura, Rinko Kawauchi, Rei Kizumoto, Kiyoko Kobayashi, Yayoi Kusama, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Hisako Kajihara, Ryoun Kano, Kiyoko Kouyama, Mieko Masui, Setsuko Mihashi, Tomoko Naito, Mien Nakao, Shohin Noguchi, Yuki Ogura, Rino Okazaki, Takeko Oofuku, Chiyuki Sakagami, Cindy Sherman, Misako Shimizu, Fukumi Shimura, Varvara Stepanova, Eri Takayanagi, Atsuko Tanaka, Shisuko Tomoto, Nobuko Watanabe, Reiko Yamamoto, Chisato Yamano, Mio Yamato, Tokiko Yasuda
This term's "SMoA Collection" is a special exhibition highlighting female artists from the museum's collection.
Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of interest in the Japanese art world in reconfirming and correcting the gender imbalance. This may have been triggered by the 50:50 male/female ratio of participating artists in the Aichi Triennale 2019, and in August 2022, the Gender Balance White Paper 2022, based on in-depth research, was published by the Expression on the Spot Survey Group.
What is the status of the Shiga Museum of Art?
As of March 2024, the percentage of female artists in the collection is 67 out of 499, or about 13.4%. Considering that the population sex ratio (the number of males per 100 females) in the 2020 census was 94.7, which means that females outnumber males in the Population, we must say that the figure of 13.4% is too low. According to the 2019 analysis, the percentage of female artists in museums with leading collections in Japan, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and the National Museum of Art, Osaka, is similar to that of our museum, ranging from 12% to 22%. This is a trend that can be seen in Japanese art museums as a whole.
However, in the case of our museum, we have one of the largest collections of women artists in Japan, such as Yuki Ogura and Fukumi Shimura. Therefore, the percentage of the total number of works of female artists is slightly higher, at about 25% of the total. It should also be mentioned that the museum has been vigorously holding solo exhibitions of women artists since its opening. In particular, since the reopening of the museum in 2021, more than half of the seven solo exhibitions held have been by female artists: Shisuko Tomoto in 2022, Rinko Kawauchi in 2023, Yuki Ogura in 2023, and Fukumi Shimura in 2024. We are also preparing a solo exhibition by Yuriko Sasaoka for next year.
Despite this fact, as mentioned earlier, it is undeniable that the museum's collection is male-dominated. This is a reflection of the state of art universities that nurture artists and the art market that distributes artworks, as well as a reflection of the society to which these institutions belong. However, this does not justify the current state of our museum. When we remember the basic premise that art is characterized by a critical eye toward common sense, conventions, and trends, we need to reflect on the current state of affairs at the museums that are supposed to deal with art.
In this day and age of diverse gender perceptions, the fact that this exhibition is named “Women Artists” - in other words, that it is based on biological gender dualism - may be criticized. However, we thought it important to first share some basic information with all visitors and supporters of our museum. We will continue to work diligently as a museum that has added “works that confirm the diversity of art and culture” to one of its collection policies in 2021. We hope you enjoy this exhibition, and we would be very happy to receive your comments and suggestions.
Source: Shiga Museum of Art (Japanese), List of works
Shiga Museum of Art
1740-1 Seta-Minamiogaya-Cho, Otsu-City,
520−2122 Shiga
Japan
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fax. +81 (0) 77-543-2170