The Countess Report is an independent artist-run research project which is led by artists Amy Prcevich, Elvis Richardson, Miranda Samuels and Shevaun Wright; although it often welcomes guest collaborators.[1] Its aim is to achieve gender parity and recognition for Australian women artists.[2][3]
To do so it publishes data and analysis on trends in the gender representation, the education of, the distribution of arts funding and media representation in the Australian art sector.[1]
The report is published every four years and its aim is both to advocate for the arts industry in Australia and serve as a piece of work in and of itself.[1][4]
The report
editThe report was first released in 2008 by Richardson on her blog called CoUNTess to make more data publicly available about the lack of gender representation in major galleries. it has continued to grow since then and has the backing of the National Association of Visual Artists, Creative Australia and the Sheila Foundation.[4]
The first formal report was published in 2014 and was followed by reports in 2018 and 2022. It gathers data from galleries and museums of all sizes (more then 450) and that of approximately 22,000 artists.[2] The 2022 report showed that the proportion of women artists exhibiting across 7 of 9 gallery types declined between 2018 and 2022 and that women only accounted for 33.6% of exhibition artists and only 30.5% a major museums. This shows a drop from both the the 2014 report where this first number was at 37% and 2018 where it was at 34%.[4]
Additional resources
editThe Countess Report is also the commissioning partner of Clear expectations: guidelines for institutions, galleries and curators working with trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists (2019).[5] This guideline is a best practice guide for working with trans, non-binary and gender diverse creatives.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ a b c "About the Countess.Report". countess.report. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ a b "The Countess Report – Sheila Foundation". Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "CoUNTess Report — Elvis Richardson". elvisrichardson.com. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Freeland, Anna (30 April 2024). "A damning new report shows that women are still not being represented fairly in Australian galleries". ABC News. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Messih, Spence; Barry, Archie (2019). "Clear Expectations: Guidelines for institutions, galleries and curators working with trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists" (PDF). Countess Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Benton, Penelope. "Clear Expectations: Guidelines for institutions, galleries and curators working with trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists in Australia". NAVA. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ PGAV. "Clear expectation: guidelines for institutions, galleries and curators working with trans, non-binary and gender diverse artists in Australia". pgav.org.au. Retrieved 2 July 2024.