Gender Check: Eastern European Art Through a Feminist Lens at Mumok

The exhibition titled 'Gender Check – Rollenbilder in der Kunst Osteuropas' was held at the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (Mumok) in Vienna, running from November 13, 2009, to February 14, 2010. Curated by Bojana Pejic, it explored Eastern Bloc art through a gender perspective, showcasing 200 pieces from 400 artists, such as Anri Sala, Boris Mikhailov, Marina Abramović, and Oleg Kulik. The exhibition revealed varied interpretations of similar themes across regions like Georgia and Albania. While socialist realist art portrayed disciplined female figures, the communist vision of gender equality often remained superficial. Mara Traumane pointed out the rigid gender divisions in Latvia, and Rovena Agolli's work 'In All My Dreams, it Never is Quite as it Seems' (2002) tackled patriarchy in post-socialist Albania.