Girls to the Front! (Vol. 2) Reimagines Pop-Rock History Through a Feminist Lens in Salamanca

Key facts

• Girls to the Front! (Vol. 2) is curated by Montse Galán and Javier Panera and runs until November 15, 2026, at Sala Hospedería Fonseca in Salamanca.
• The exhibition is the second edition of a project initiated in 2024 that explores connections between popular music, visual arts, and feminism.
• It features over 1,500 album covers from various genres, many created or photographed by artists and photographers such as Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol, and Robert Mapplethorpe.
• The show includes photographs, drawings, video installations, posters, graphic works, fanzines, magazines, comics, and books.
• A site-specific work, Expanded Art-Rock Diagram, is a 4 x 11 meter conceptual drawing inspired by George Maciunas's 1966 Expanded Arts Diagram.
• The title comes from the punk-rock cry 'Girls to the Front!', used by women to demand safety and visibility in concerts and the music industry.
• The exhibition traces a feminist genealogy from blues pioneers Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Memphis Minnie to contemporary artists like Björk, St. Vincent, FKA Twigs, Rosalía, and Sevdaliza.
• It highlights the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s, with bands such as Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Babes in Toyland, L7, and Sleater-Kinney, and art collectives Guerrilla Girls and Pussy Riot.