After last year’s successful launch, the Women in Art Fair (WIAF) returns as part of London Frieze Week. Drawing together women artists, gallerists and curators, this year’s show received over 2,000 submissions following an open call on the theme of ‘the creative process’.
This year, WIAF are teaming up with the social enterprise group, Rise and Repaint, who support and advocate for women and non-binary artists with museums and galleries worldwide. They state: “Female artists remain drastically underrepresented, and our surveys prove that exhibition opportunities are still severely lacking”.
A highlight of the event will be the Spotlight section. This year WIAF committee member, and noted art dealer, gallerist and cultural strategist, Virginia Damtsa has selected work by six international female artists to curate Women’s Cycles. Regular OX readers will recognise Oxford’s Ruth Swain’s poignant paintings of domestic drudgery, and these will be shown alongside works by Naila Hazell, Wen Wu, Poppy de Havilland, Anna Lena Krause and Sofia Laskari, who was named Robert Walters UK New Artist of the Year 2023.
We spoke with Virginia to find out a little more about the process and how she came to settle on the theme.
Could you tell us a bit more about what’s involved in curating a show and how you came to be involved?
I’m passionate about championing female artists, especially emerging ones, and giving them a voice. The Women in Art Fair serves as a platform for this. Curating involves exploring a wide range of artists, themes, and stories. For Women’s Cycles, I focused on observing patterns, similarities, affinities, and cultural differences. In presenting six international artists—from Azerbaijan, China, Britain, and Germany, and across different ages—you can see how the notion of womanhood is deeply important, revered, explored, and expressed.
The theme of cycles is inspired. Was there a specific moment, incident, or prompt that led to it?
Yes, it stemmed from my own experiences and those of the women around me. Being a woman can feel like experiencing different weathers in a single day. Our complexities make us unique and special.
The wash cycle image will give many of us a wry smile. How did you come to use this?
I was speaking with award-winning artist Ruth Swain about the exhibition’s theme, and the next day, she showed me a drawing that was her personal interpretation of it. The relationship between curator and artist is very special, and when a strong bond is formed, it leads to the birth of new ideas.
Women in Art Fair
9-12 October 2024
Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1 womeninartfair.com
