Liliana Moro on Being an Artist, Market Changes, and the Term 'Donne-artiste'

In an interview with Artribune, Italian artist Liliana Moro discusses the financial realities of being an artist, the evolution of the art market, and her views on gender labeling. Moro, who began her career in the late 1980s in Milan, describes the early struggles of juggling multiple jobs to cover expenses and invest in her practice. She notes that the situation for young artists today is even more challenging. In the early 1990s, Milan's art scene was vibrant, with spaces like Lo Spazio di via Lazzaro Palazzi, run by artists themselves, fostering community and critical engagement. Moro started living off her art in 1994, though income has fluctuated. She contrasts today's market with the past, when there were fewer artists and collectors were more passionate and knowledgeable, prioritizing intellectual exchange over speculation. Moro expresses no expectations from the art system, feeling it has already given her enough. On gender, she acknowledges that since the 1990s, women artists have gained visibility thanks to earlier generations' battles, but she finds the term 'donne-artiste' (women-artists) discriminatory and annoying. Her private and artistic lives are intertwined, with her two cats sometimes wanting her home more. The interview is part of Artribune Magazine #51, conducted by Santa Nastro, vice director of Artribune.