Women in the Art World – ArtVenture Club e.V.

This March, ArtVenture Club and friends celebrate Women’s History Month by shining a spotlight on women in the art world – past and present, in front and beyond the canvas. From artists, art historians, curators, researchers, and educators to writers, organizers, collectors, patrons, founders – we’re celebrating all passionate creative women who shape how art is made, mediated, sustained, remembered, valued, and preserved.

Through storytelling, curiosity, and a positive feminist lens, we focus on historical and contemporary women across geographies, roles, and lived realities.

How it works:

Pick a woman whose story you want to tell & DM us.

We’ll choose a date in March together.

Create your post with our style guide.

Publish as an Instagram collab with ArtVenture Club.

We’re especially excited about stories that haven’t yet received the full visibility they deserve, that go beyond the traditional Euro-American canon, and that reflect the art world in all its global, complex, interconnected brilliance.

“Women in the Art World” is a community-driven grassroots project that welcomes everyone to become participants, contributors, and storytellers. A special shout out to our male allies: Step up, amplify women’s stories, and help us open the gates of the art world even wider.

The spotlight is on women; the collaboration is for all.

This campaign is part of ArtVenture Club’s series “The Art World of the Future” – inviting everyone to shift perspective, look beyond the paint, and see the full picture of who shapes the art world of tomorrow.

The Idea

Who we are

ArtVenture Club e.V. is a Germany-based, UNESCO-recognized international nonprofit for art world professionals and multi-passionate creatives. Our work is rooted in one big question: What could the sustainable, fair, and diverse art world of the future actually look like and how can we build it together?

For further details, see: What do we mean by “Art World”?

What is this campaign about?

With “Women in the Art World: In Front and Beyond the Canvas”, ArtVenture Club is launching a collective, community-driven, international grassroots movement and visibility campaign for Women’s History Month 2026. The idea is simple and urgent: spotlight historical and contemporary women in the art world and do so explicitly both in front and beyond the canvas. This is about looking beyond the paint, and seeing the full picture of who shapes the art world.

For further details, see: Who do we address when we speak of “women”?

The art world of the future is … feminist!

Yes, women artists matter deeply. And they’re at the heart of all of this. Without women artists there would be no holistic art world, much less this campaign. But with this particular campaign, we’re also shining a light on women art historians, curators, researchers, educators, organizers, collectors, patrons, founders, and all the multi-passionate women creatives who shape how art is made, mediated, supported, remembered, valued, and preserved.

Within this framework, we regard visibility as a collective practice. That’s why we’re particularly interested in women whose contributions haven’t yet received the full visibility they deserve. Also, we strongly encourage contributions that move beyond the traditional Euro-American canon and look at the art world in all its global, messy, brilliant complexity.

For further details, see: Who do we address when we speak of “women in the art world”?

Step-by-Step towards a more sustainable Handprint for Gender Equality

This international campaign is designed to be collaborative from the very start. It takes place on Instagram and Substack and continues to evolve across different disciplines, sectors, and fields. If you would like to join us, our doors are open.

ArtVenture Club organizes the campaign via @artventure_club and our group chat “Women in the Art World”.

Here’s how it works, step by step:

Step 1: Your heart is already beating for a particular woman in the art world?

You’ve got someone fabulous in mind you’d love to write about? Amazing. Send us a direct message and tell us who she is. This helps us avoid duplicates and make sure women in front and beyond the canvas get equal visibility.

Step 2: Pick your date

Together, we’ll choose a publication date between 1 March and 31 March 2026.

Step 3: Get creative

Write your post using our little style guide full of tips, ideas, and recommendations.

Step 4: Publish as a collaboration

On the agreed upon date, you publish your post as an Instagram collaboration with ArtVenture Club to maximize reach. This way, your contribution reaches both your community and ours.

Please note: ArtVenture Club reviews all contributions before confirming Instagram collaborations.

A note on review

All contributions are reviewed by ArtVenture Club before being accepted as collaborations. This helps us ensure that everything aligns with the campaign’s values, focus, and criteria. If there is a hiccup – we’ll always aim to communicate openly and respectfully and try to find common ground.

All contributions are reviewed by ArtVenture Club before publication. This helps us ensure that everything aligns with the campaign’s values, focus, and quality standards. We’ll work with you to refine your contribution if needed, and all posts will be published from the @artventure_club account using our campaign template. You’ll receive full credit as the author, and we’re happy to tag you and link to relevant resources. If there’s a hiccup – we’ll always communicate openly and respectfully to find common ground.

Want to go further?

Share links and resources about the woman you’re featuring. We’ll add them to our Linktree so her visibility lives on beyond the post.

Want to go longer?

Instagram feels too small for what you want to say? Same. That’s why you’re invited to write extended texts, which we’re happy to publish via Substack.

Please note: Substack contributions need to be submitted as Substack drafts at least 5 days before your publication date.

Want to go again?

You are welcome to suggest several posts. Let’s talk about it and see how we can schedule them.

Loving the idea, but still looking for inspiration?

We got you. You’re welcome to browse ArtVenture Club’s growing list of historical and contemporary women in the art world that we ourselves would love to learn more about. The list will be updated and grow continuously throughout the campaign.

And then what?

Thirty days after each post goes live, we’ll look at the number of likes. All campaign posts are automatically included.
The authors of the five most engaged posts will be invited to a moderated online roundtable conversation (if they like, it’s not obligatory).
At this virtual event, we’d love to learn more, share personal stories, talk about how you came upon “your” woman in the art world, what most impressed you, what most surprised you, and ask the big questions: How can we maintain their visibility in the long run? And how can we increase the visibility of women in the art world altogether?

Participation

You have an idea? Let’s talk.

You’re unsure? Come chat.

You’re curious? Perfect. That’s where this starts.

Participation in the campaign is open to everyone. For our co-creative collaboration on Instagram and Substack, all people from the art world and beyond are welcome to take part as contributors and storytellers, regardless of gender. Our male allies are explicitly invited to join our conversation.

Organization & Role

We’re here to support you along the way. ArtVenture Club e.V. offers curatorial guidance and takes a look at all contributions before confirming collaborations, simply to make sure everything aligns with the spirit, quality, and shared values of the campaign.

Whether you’re an individual or an organization, you’re warmly invited to jump in, co-create with us, and help shape the campaign together.

Looking ahead, our goal is to build something that lasts: a structure we can return to, grow with, and use as a living space for visibility, exchange, and collective reflection on women in the art world – both in front and beyond the canvas.

Notes

This campaign follows ArtVenture Club’s Fair Collaboration Code, which sets a shared framework for respectful engagement with ideas and intellectual work. As a voluntary commitment, it guides how we collaborate and care for one another’s contributions. Together, we cultivate trust, fairness, and a more sustainable art world.

This work, including its underlying concept, structure, and framing, is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0) International License. It may not be adapted, replicated, or used for commercial or institutional purposes without explicit permission.

Get in touch

Nathalie Krall

Art Historian
Liaison Networking & The Art World of the Future

nathalie.krall@artventureclub.org

Dr. Kathleen Löwe

Art Historian
Liaison Social Media & Artificial Intelligence

kathleen.loewe@artventureclub.org

About ArtVenture Club

ArtVenture Club e.V. is a non-profit association based in Germany and a growing interdisciplinary network of international art world professionals. We believe in an open, diverse, and equitable creative universe. The spark was lit back in 2019 at the Deutscher Kongress für Kunstgeschichte (German Congress on Art History). What began as a conversation among art historians in 2020 grew into a registered nonprofit in 2024, and today the Club is a hub for ideas and action where culture, research, and education unite with a strong compass: the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In recognition of our engagement and vision, ArtVenture Club e.V. was included in UNESCO’s “Fourth Quadrennial Periodic Report on the Protection and Promotion of Cultural Diversity in and by Germany” in 2024.

The ArtVenture Club e.V. is co-signatory of the “Sustainability Declaration for the Cultural Sector” by Culture4Climate, the Climate Heritage Network’s “Joint Work Decision on Culture and Climate Action (JWD),” and the “Fair Culture Charter.” We are members of Gemeinschaftswerk Nachhaltigkeit and proud partners of Auction for Climate Action and Beruf Kunstvermittlung e.V., and The Jena Declaration, working together towards a sustainable, diverse, and fair art world of the future.