Feminist, activist and gorilla-masked, 'Frida Kahlo' shares insights on discrimination in art, media and politics in conjunction with current Walsh Art Gallery exhibition

Activist and angry, the Guerrilla Girls sent shock waves through the art world in the 1980s. With protest demonstrations and poster campaigns, they set out to expose bad habits in collecting and exhibiting practices. And they did all this while appearing in gorilla masks and assuming the names of dead women artists. A founding member of the Guerrilla Girls, "Frida Kahlo," will come to Fairfield University's Barone Campus Center Oak Room to present " Guerrilla Girls: A Dialogue on Discrimination in Art, Media, and Politics" at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23, 2014 . The event is free and open to the public.

The lecture is being held in conjunction with the current exhibition, "Not Ready to Make Nice: Guerrilla Girls in the Artworld and Beyond ," a major presentation of the Guerrilla Girls, that is touring nationally and currently on view at Fairfield University's Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery through Nov. 14, 2014 . In her talk, "Frida Kahlo" will outline the group's creative process and actions. A Q&A with the audience and with exhibition curator Neysa Page-Lieberman will follow. The Westport Arts Center is a community partner for this event, which is made possible in part by a grant from the Humanities Institute, College of Arts and Sciences, Fairfield University.

For nearly three decades, the Guerrilla Girls have remained anonymous - "Frida Kahlo" will appear at Fairfield in a gorilla mask - as they continue to reveal truths about sexism and prejudice in the art world and beyond. The exhibition "Not Ready to Make Nice" illuminates and contextualizes the important historical and ongoing work of these highly original, provocative, and influential artists who champion feminism and social change, focusing primarily on recent work from the past decade.

Fairfield University is located at 1073 North Benson Road, in Fairfield, CT. For further information, visit www.fairfield.edu/walshgallery .

Posted On: 09-17-2014 03:09 PM

Volume: 47 Number: 54