Forum Addresses Gender Disparity in Art World with Data-Driven Discussion

A forum focused on improving support for women artists was held in Washington, D.C., organized by collector Komal Shah, curator Cecilia Alemani, and director Loring Randolph. The event, which took place from March 5 over three days, was launched at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. It featured speakers including Ava DuVernay, Chelsea Clinton, and Jodie Foster, and was inspired by data from the Burns Halperin Report showing that only 11% of museum acquisitions since 2008 are by women, with parity in auction sales not projected until 2053. The forum coincided with the exhibition 'Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection' at the same museum, curated by Alemani from Shah's collection.