Week XIII
Change of Direction: the creation of ARTISTAS
This week has been very stressful for me, especially since I find myself in a position where I need to change the direction of my design project. With only two weeks left before I have to present it, this was a daunting task. Thankfully, I had a meeting with Fiona, and we were able to refocus the idea and highlight the points I needed to focus on moving forward.
Instead of my original plan in which I create a whole exhibition where I can’t show my skills as a graphic designer (this was more a curatorial work), I will now be focusing on writing shocking statistics about the women artists in a street campaign. These statistics will be presented in a practical way that increases awareness and helps to promote the artists. Additionally, I will be developing a new brand identity that will be associated with the organization behind this campaign. One of my main goals is to encourage proactivity in the audience. To achieve this, I plan to create a website or campaign hashtag that people can share and show their support for the campaign. By doing so, we can increase the visibility of these female artists and help to elevate their names within the industry.
Overall, this change of direction has been challenging, but I believe it will be well worth it in the end. I am excited to dive into this new project and see where it takes me.
The Basics:
Finding a Brand
NMWA’s infographic.
What’s the meaning behind my campaign?
The lack of representation of women artists in educational curricula and museums has led the brand to take action and fight the absence of these figures in history. Women in art have faced gender biases for centuries and women have never been treated equally in the art world. Today female artists remain dramatically underrepresented and undervalued in museums, galleries, and auction houses.
What are my offerings or services?
This brand mainly carries out divulgation and activism work through campaigns both on social media and on the streets. In addition, they have a website where they offer informative resources such as catalogues, news, etc. They also sell products to raise money to help current artists as well as to encourage museums to review their collections. Their information offers the audience the official historical discourse and its possible comebacks with gender perspectives.
What are my benefits or vision statement?
In addition to raising awareness, the brand’s work brings art history to the population in an accessible and simple way so that everyone can enjoy and understand it. Thanks to this socio-cultural lens, a rigorous and egalitarian history is constructed, which contextualizes artistic and human creations without diminishing the importance of any. In addition, many of the situations we experience today are inherited from the societies of the artists being discussed, so knowing them will help us understand our present. Finally, models and references of diversity would be offered which would empower women and girls, aligning our purpose with the United Nations 2030 Goals for gender equality. Ultimately offering a vision of art in which everyone can feel represented and that can be enjoyed.
What is my mission statement?
Awareness: increasing familiarity with the names of less-known artists.
Community: setting a historical rigour in which everyone in Dublin can understand the context and situations that provided some artists and held back others, explaining our own situation today.
Democratization: ultimately offering a vision of art in which everyone can feel represented and that can be enjoyed.
What are my personality and values?
Personality: Cheerful / Strong / Activist / Creative / Contemporary
Values: Spread Awareness / Education & Divulgation / Diversity & Inclusion / Community - based / Accessible
What is my target market?
All citizens of Dublin are potentially my audience, but I have three main personas to which my work is directed. There are messages for everyone in each segment: if art is not one of their main interests or you don't know much about it; if it's one of their passions and feels that there's still loads to learn about; and even if they haven't had the chance to get closer to art history yet... This project is in the making for all of them. They would engage with the brand by reading the ads throughout the city, reading their messages and ideally taking the conversation to social media with the hashtag. They also could visit the web, use the resources and buy the products.
Conclusion after these questions:
I believe that the best way to effectively achieve all the objectives of this brand is through the creation of an association that covers all this outreach and activism work, focusing more on social impact rather than functioning as a company. In this way, the intention of the association will be:
Spread Awareness: the aim is to raise awareness about gender biases in the art world and their impact on society and culture.
Education & Divulgation: the publication seeks to educate readers about the history of art and the contributions of female and minority artists that have been overlooked.
Diversity & Inclusion: art should be inclusive and representative of all people, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or background.
Community-based: building a community of readers and artists who share its values and are dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the art world.
Accessible: Content accessible to all readers, regardless of their level of knowledge or expertise in the field of art history.
Creation of the Brand:
ARTISTAS
The name ARTISTAS
The project name was selected with the goal of conveying its concept in a short and straightforward way, without explicitly naming it after women artists. This is because I wanted to avoid relegating them to a secondary role and instead highlight their contributions as equal to those of their male counterparts.
After brainstorming, I realized that in Spanish, the term Artistas, meaning artists, includes both feminine and masculine genders. This is a more inclusive approach that emphasizes that everyone, regardless of gender, can be an artist. The "A" at the end of the word often marks the feminine gender, subtly indicating that women artists are the protagonists of this project. However, it also highlights that they belong to a larger and more egalitarian group that encloses all artists.
Once I had already decided on the name, I realized that within the word "Artistas" there could be a wordplay with great potential for the brand's language. The word contains the statement "Art Is" (something that Lorraine O'Grady already captured in 1983 - O'Grady, 2022). In this way, one of the ways to make the brand language more approachable and cheerful to reach my audience is through the use of that wordplay:
Art Is -Tas
Art Is -Female
Art Is -Diverse
Art Is -Yours
By choosing a name that is gender-inclusive, I hope to also encourage a more inclusive brand that stays true to its core values, since this project aims to celebrate the work of women artists while promoting a more equitable and inclusive art history.
Survey to my Audience
Due to the recent shift in my target market towards a more open and less specific one, I decided to get to know it more in-depth through a survey that I am currently sharing with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Specifically, what I want to find out is to what extent people are able to name artists, how many women are mentioned when not specifically asked about them, and I also want to explore how people feel when talking about art (as I know many often feel intimidated in some way). Additionally, I want to assess whether the type of bold statements I plan to work with would resonate with everyone, especially with a majority who may not know much about art.
Conclusion
After this intense week of work to rediscover the purpose of my project after so many changes in direction, I finally feel content and confident with the path I am taking, and I see a direction that makes sense and has potential.
#5WomenArtists Media & Shareables | NMWA. (2022, February 26). NMWA. https://nmwa.org/support/advocacy/5womenartists/shareable-content/
All SHE Makes. (n.d.). All SHE Makes. https://www.allshemakes.org/home
Art Is. . . - Lorraine O'Grady. (2022, October 11). Lorraine O’Grady. https://lorraineogrady.com/art/art-is/
ArtGirlRising: a statement for female artists. (n.d.). BMW. https://www.bmw.com/en/magazine/innovation/artgirlrising-statement-for-women-artists.html
Imagine a world. . . - CPB London. (2023, May 4). CPB London. https://cpblondon.com/portfolio/international-womens-day-imagine/
Merelli, A. (2022, July 20). Paleolithic women likely knew a lot more about loving their bodies than we do. Quartz. https://qz.com/quartzy/1399713/a-different-view-of-gender-in-prehistoric-society-and-art
Myrone, M. (2018, June 18). Angelica Kauffman – Tate Etc | Tate. Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-43-summer-2018/lives-of-the-artists-angelica-kauffman-martin-myrone
OUR IMPACT. (n.d.). Repaint History. https://repainthistory.com/pages/our-impact
Stand Up For Women Artists. (n.d.). ArtGirlRising. https://artgirlrising.com/
STORE — Guerrilla Girls. (n.d.). Guerrilla Girls. https://www.guerrillagirls.com/store
Subject Matter. (n.d.). Subject Matter. https://subjectmatterart.com/
WE ARE HERE, WE WILL BE SEEN. (n.d.). https://www.wherearethewomenartists.com/
Women Artists Action Group (Archive of Pauline Cummins) - EVA International. (2020, October 13). EVA International. https://www.eva.ie/artist/women-artists-action-group-archive-of-pauline-cummins/
Yerebakan, O. C. (2023, May 12). In Sensual Paper Cut-Outs, Xiyadie Carves Narratives of Queer Pleasure | Artsy. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-sensual-paper-cut-outs-xiyadie-carves-narratives-queer-pleasure
Feel free to read my other blog posts! You can find them here.
Between The Brackets: Outcome
“There isn’t anything inherently different about work created by artists of any particular gender - it’s more that society and its gatekeepers have always prioritised one group in history” (K. Hessel, 2022)