Creating a New Canon: Lithuanian Women Artists from 1900 until Today - Agne Narušīte

Agne Narušīte (Agnė Narušytė), Dr.

All started with the publication of Flavia Frigeri’s book “Women Artists” in Lithuanian. While discussing it, we noticed how little was known about women artists of Eastern Europe in the world. The same could be said about general knowledge in Lithuania – the heroes of the art world are almost exclusively men. To correct the situation, the publisher “Kitos knygos” and I decided to compile a dictionary of Lithuanian women artists from 1900 until today. It should present each artist’s biography and creative career. A text on feminist philosophy and introductions to three historical periods would be included as well. But first, we had to select 50 outstanding personalities trying to represent the diversity of their art, to include not only Lithuanians and also not to forget women who founded art schools or galleries. In the end, the book came out representing 59 artists and was immediately criticized for not including other important artists or for creating a gendered ghetto. For the latter reason, one artist refused to participate. The lecture will discuss the challenges of creating such a book and forming a new canon.