Fun Feminism
24 Sept. 2022 – 19 March 2023, Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart

Curators: Maja Wismer and Alice Wilke with Senam Okudzeto and Claudia Müller

On Friday 23 September 2022 there will be the inauguration of the “Fun Feminism” exhibition, from 6 to 9 pm at the Kunstmuseum Basel.

Fun Feminism presents around 40 works dating from the 1960s through to the 1990s drawn from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel, alongside a selection of more recent pieces by contemporary Swiss and international artists. The idea for the exhibition was born through conversation between Basel based artists Senam Okudzeto and Claudia Müller. They approached Kunstmuseum Basel with the suggestion of looking at the museum collection through a feminist lens, while combatting the stereotype of feminism as humorless with an emphasis on joy, playfulness and irreverence. The project expanded into a wider dialogue with the curatorial team of Kunstmuseum, Maja Wismer and Alice Wilke, who brought new interests and perspectives to the topic. 

Artists, art historians, gallery owners and curators have been endeavouring to advance feminist perspectives in the visual arts for some 50 years now, thus redefining the portrayal of gender images and roles. In disclosing and exposing patriarchal structures with a nod and a wink, much of the works created in this vein draw on a range of humorous registers, such as irony and self-irony. 

Artists Featuring in the Exhibition: 

Polly Apfelbaum, Monika Baer, Lynda Benglis, Dara Birnbaum, Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Ruth Buchanan, Pauline Curnier Jardin, Paz Errázuriz, Jana Euler, Sylvie Fleury, Andrea Fraser, Ellen Gallagher, Anna Gili, Guerrilla Girls, Ani Liu, Muda Mathis & Sus Zwick, Kirsi Mikkola, Ebecho Muslimova, Lorraine O’Grady, Pipilotti Rist, Tracey Rose, Martha Rosler, Karin Sander, Sarina Scheidegger & Ariane Koch, Cindy Sherman, Wiebke Siem, Lena Maria Thüring, Rosemarie Trockel, Fatimah Tuggar, Lily van der Stokker, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Puck Verkade, Marianne Wex, Nives Widauer, Melanie Jame Wolf, Betty Woodman, Aline Stalder & Nadine Cueni & Katharina Kemmerling & Katrin Niedermeier.