At the beginning of October, the Association of Visual Artists (BKF) initiated a collection of testimonies about sexism in the art world. So far, the association has received approx. 40 inquiries about sexism, abuse and abuse in connection with education or work in the arts.
Here below we bring an edited selection of the most recent testimonies we have received. They are submitted against a promise of anonymity. Some of them are published in the December 2020 edition of the professional magazine Biledkunstneren, others have been added after the editorial deadline. The testimonies are abbreviated and divided for readability.
Read the first 15 testimonies about sexism in the art world here...
All photos on this page are from the exhibition 'Collected Memory' by Mille Kalsmose, which could be experienced earlier this year in Politiken's Forhal. For the exhibition, which is unrelated to the BKF's collection of testimonies, Mille Kalsmose created a large-scale installation in brass and hundreds of neatly folded paper pages dyed in a deep red color that brought to mind an archive or a library. The audience was invited to share personal stories, which were archived and disseminated via the house's light newspapers on e.g. Rådhuspladsen, Nørreport and Vesterport. Photos: Thomas Andersen.
Mille Kalsmose | Collected Memory (2020).
#16, Female Artist:
I am a young artist in my 20s, I have exhibited at one of the censored exhibitions. I had a longer collaboration with the board, and on the last evening of the exhibition I am alone with the business manager. He is 20 years older than me. He knows I have a partner. When we hug goodbye, he takes a little longer than he should and then smells my hair and kisses my hair. I become puffy and think, it must be something I have imagined myself. But when he follows me to the door and says goodbye, it happens again. I confront him and he explains that it was a 'fatherly' thing.
#17, Female Artist:
I am touched on the thigh and touched inappropriately by my gallerist. He is a kind and wise person who does a lot of good for my career, but he also oversteps my boundaries in small but frequent ways. When that happens, I pull away quickly and clearly. The problem is not so much the actual hand on the thigh, etc., but the intention and the fact that my obvious physical warding off maneuver, which should deter him from continuing, has no effect. I know I have to muster up the courage to confront my gallerist and ask him to stop the unwanted advances. Unfortunately, it can cost the friendship (and the gallery).
#18, Female Artist:
When I was at the art academy in the 2010s, I was kissed by my male professor at a party at the academy. He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and kissed me on the mouth. I was totally blown away. Chose to give him a hug and dance on and pretend nothing happened. I got strange looks afterwards.
#19, Female Artist:
As a student, I got in touch with a male artist who was a guest teacher. He was incredibly welcoming and helpful, but on a walk we were on, he stopped and kissed me. I thought we had a friend-mentor relationship with each other. Today I can see that he romanticized me wildly. I was 25, he was +40.
#20, Female Artist:
I have met many men who could not separate my work with the body and my painting from my personal body. I have received many outrageous comments about my body, e.g. that 'my breasts are very small, but beautiful'.
#21, Female Artist:
I have been exposed to a number of sexual violations over several years from a male colleague at the art school where I was employed as a teacher. For the last three years of my employment he was my boss and he ended up firing me on very questionable grounds. I complained about wrongful dismissal, but the case never progressed. He repeatedly asked me if I shouldn't 'live my sexuality to the fullest and have more lovers', always acting 'flirtatious' towards me with comments about my body and attractiveness. He often stood with his arms on either side of me, either from behind if I was standing at a table, or from the front if I was standing against a wall, so I was locked in as he pressed his body against me and said, that he wanted me.
Mille Kalsmose | Collected Memory (2020).
#22, Female Artist:
A few years ago I was a guest teacher at an art college several times. Here, one of the male lecturers consistently had sexual relations with young female students. The lecturer in question also always had a sexualizing remark ready for me and other female colleagues.
#23, Female Artist:
When I was a student, a professor with whom I felt I had a close friendship took me on my ass, both before and while I was heavily pregnant. It was extra humiliating and offensive because for 2-3 years before that we had a mutually respectful and friendly relationship.
#24, female artist:
Both as a student and as a graduate in the arts, I have experienced sexism and abuse, e.g. in the form of countless touches on breasts and balls, many crude sexually related comments, direct inquiries about sex, being referred to in the third person as a sexual object, even though I myself was standing in front of the persons in question. I have received borderline remarks and been exposed to unwanted touches from both male curators, gallerists, artist colleagues and customers. I have been stalked by two male customers who had bought works from me. Both tried in different ways to pressure me into sex, one I eventually had to physically wrestle myself away from, the other only gave up when I had ignored him for a long time.
#25, Female Artist:
A tenured male lecturer and a visiting male lecturer at the art academy I attended arranged for me to walk in front of them in the hallway, whereupon they commented on my ass and exchanged remarks. They are both artists with international careers.
#26, Female Artist:
During a dinner on a field trip, my professor commented on my choice of beverages: He thought it was a shame that I drank wine because, as he pointed out, “when women drink beer, they don't really taste it, but instead have the ability and is used to opening the throat.”
#27, artist:
I went to a prestigious art college where we experienced sexism and transgressive behavior from several teachers, and also from some of the male students. A teacher often pushed for the women in the team in particular to talk about their sexual or traumatic experiences in order to include it in their art. Several lecturers and guest lecturers got drunk at the parties and attacked students, even though they were clearly told not to. Some of the male students could touch others in sexual ways, especially at parties. I myself experienced sexual assault from another student.
#28, Female Artist:
I am a young student at a foreign academy - there is an art fair in town and a number of large Danish gallerists are in town. A group of artists and gallerists meet in a bar, I know one of the other artists. At one point, public transport stops and a gallerist I know from Denmark offers that I can spend the night in his room. There is no flirting between us and I see it as a practical solution to the problem. I experience a friendly atmosphere and I know that the gallerist is well married and has children, which in my eyes is a guarantee that nothing will happen. I therefore say thank you for his offer. I build a wall of quilts and pillows between us in bed and say this is my half. I go to sleep, FULLY clothed. I wake up the next morning to the gallerist having his hands down my panties, in some sort of attempt to stimulate me. When I realize what is happening, I take his hand away and say no. I try to be nice and jovial - because I know that he has lost face and that it will probably get worse for myself from here on out. Since then he has never spoken to me, and I have never – in the many years that have passed – experienced any professional interest from his end of the art world. I wish I had had the judgment to take the bus home.
Mille Kalsmose | Collected Memory (2020).
#29, Female Artist:
First year of the basic education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, in the early 1990s. Review of a piece I had made together with two other (female) fellow students in the team. Conclusion from the associate professor who managed the review “Hm. Not too bad, actually. Considering you are women”.
#30, Female Artist:
When I went to the academy, a group of female students lined up on the so-called 'painting loft', because there was ventilation so that you could paint with oil paint. Their canvases were repeatedly destroyed and/or painted over at night. Often with sexist text and signs. The women came up with something else, something that didn't involve oil paint. As a fellow student, I could only state that there was at least no reason to paint with oil if you were a woman. Too bad, because I was actually quite curious about creating and mixing pigments. But all right, there's so much else you can do, so I just did. Fuck the painted ceiling.
#31, Female Artist:
I have been advised many times not to have children if I want a career. Both by mentors, teachers, professors and older colleagues, and both by women (who have been told the same thing themselves, and perhaps that's why many of them don't have children either) and by men (who have children themselves).
#32, Female Artist:
I have often listened to men, and also some women, say to vernissages that certain named female artists have only become successful because they are 'fuckable' and not because of the content of their work. As a young, newly qualified artist, I did not say no to those announcements, but instead became very uncertain and nervous, and did not know what to answer. I just chose to be silent. Today, I will react markedly differently and speak out against that kind of sexist remark, no matter who it comes from.
#33, Female Artist:
I have been told in various ways that I am invited to things and that there is interest in my work because of my appearance. And that I will find that interest stops when I start to get wrinkles or if I have children. I've also been told that if I want to make it in the art world, I should get together with a rich collector or an influential gallerist. Many have told me that the important steps in one's career happen in a bar at 3 in the morning and that I should therefore be less boring.
#34, female artist
I had a teacher who always spoke condescendingly of my then partner and called all the women at school 'chickens' and 'giggle aunties'. He told me that the other women at school didn't like me because they were jealous of me because I was the prettiest. It made me wildly insecure and I had a strange relationship with him, where I felt that I had to live up to his ideas about me. I was afraid of what would happen if I told him off or pointed out to him that he was inappropriate.
#35, Female Artist:
A few years ago I was admitted to a recognized gallery in a major Danish city. I got a curator who was supposed to take care of me and my interests in the gallery. Pretty soon he made hints and hints that he wanted more than to collaborate professionally, he was 'struck' and wanted to kiss and sit close, etc. Dealing with him became very intense and a daily routine. I politely made it clear to him that I was not interested. At the same time, it was a stressful situation, because it was in the cards that if I said no clearly or angrily and put a stop to having my limits exceeded daily, I would not have a future at the gallery. In the end I had to set a final and hard boundary to avoid being groped. It happened at a Christmas lunch where I was expected to go home with him, even though I didn't feel like it. The next morning he bombarded me with angry text messages, filled with all kinds of accusations. He also subsequently hung me up on Facebook. I was frozen out of the gallery, as a 'difficult woman'.
Mille Kalsmose | Collected Memory (2020).
#36, Female Artist:
A gallerist from the fashionable part of the gallery environment in Copenhagen visited me regularly in my studio for a number of years. He often suggested that I could 'cram' my way into some help in the art world. He texted me a lot about sex, bodies, kisses and lusts, etc. And by implication it wasn't 'legal' for me to set hard boundaries, because then he would use his power to exclude me from the art world. I felt I had to keep a balance all the time and find myself in micro-transgressions. At one point he was supposed to have a stand at an art fair in the United States. He offered to show pictures of some of my work to American gallerists and try to make contact for me. I was very excited when I saw him again and asked if anyone had been interested. He said there were several people who had shown interest and that he had a list of email addresses for me. But if I wanted the list, I had to 'give something'. I don't want to write his name here because I'm afraid of the anger I might get against me.
#37, Female Artist:
I have chosen to drop out of the 'mainstream' art world and instead establish my own small gallery because it is easier than dealing with sexism. I often had to listen to condescending things about my gender, e.g. that female artists don't have as much drive as male, or that they make 'women's art', which by implication is not as cool and real as the art made by men. Several times I have tried to network with male artists who think it is an invitation to score. All in all, it has been difficult and sometimes impossible for me to navigate. Unfortunately, I can understand if many female artists drop out because it is all too much.
#38, Female Artist:
I would like to refute any notion that sexism in the art world can only be attributed to a few rotten vessels - there are many rotten vessels, and at the Academy of Arts they have had free rein in the eyes of everyone, including the management that was supposed to protect us as students. As I've gotten older and gained more status in the scene, the harassment has subsided and I feel that there is now a different respect for my person and my artistry than when I was younger (and stereotypically prettier).
#39, Female Artist:
At the beginning of my education, I was assigned to a teacher who was rumored to have at least one girl that he slept with per day. year. He effectively understood how to stage himself as a gatekeeper to the art world with deliberate discrimination as a result: some students he would promote to his gallery contacts; others he wanted to photograph in a private room – both groups found it difficult to speak out because they felt selected in one way or another.
On the other hand, he apparently wanted to break or humiliate me. First in connection with the initial one-on-one conversation, where he made it clear that he did not respect me as an artist and i.a. stated that I had been admitted against his will. Since in connection with a mandatory review, which took place as a bar event approximately one month after start-up. There was heavy drinking, and I was the last in a line of four or five students who had to present. The others took quite a hard hit, and I cringed at the prospect. He rained down his criticism on me: a disqualifying criticism based on gut feelings and judgment. And he incited several of my fellow students to join the choir – probably because by participating in the sabering they could withdraw from his line of fire. However, one teacher came to my rescue with an attempt at a constructive discussion of choice and method, but it could not take root at all in the lynch-like atmosphere that had built up, and I left the session humiliated and ashamed.
A month later, however, the teacher suddenly came to meet me and excused his behavior on the evening in question by saying that he had been drunk. He added that I should just stick with him, 'then he would probably make me a good artist.' The next day there was a Christmas party. Here he stated that he was probably aware of how important our conversation and his apology had been to me, but that he had 'only been thinking about how beautiful my eyes are.' When I rejected his advances, he subsequently intensified his harassment. This ended up driving a wedge between me and my fellow students, who increasingly refused to be associated with me. I was thus isolated from the rest of the group, and when a fellow student at one point tried to articulate the toxic culture, and I backed her up, he promptly shut me down: 'there's something special about you! — it does not concern the others.'
Although management knew about his behavior, there were no structures in place to intercept or stop his systematic and sexualized bullying of me and other students. It was difficult to calm down to develop professionally and work with art, because you were constantly forced to deal with your gender and the signals he thought you were sending. To me he behaved like a scorned suitor and consistently denied the power he had over me as my teacher. When his tenure ended, he was celebrated with farewell speeches and hired to do a public decoration in our educational buildings. It was incredibly demoralizing for us female students to see how he was honored.
Because of the experience, I was subsequently afraid to approach male lecturers, professors and laboratory managers for fear that they would try something similar. This leaves me with the impression that, due to my gender, I have not had the same educational opportunities as my fellow male students, who have had access to laboratories and knowledge without having to look over their shoulders. I didn't want any teacher's cock—I wanted to learn; I wanted to make art.
Mille Kalsmose | Collected Memory (2020).
#40, Female Artist:
As a young person in the 1980s, I worked in an art institution, where I, among other things, was to help artists install their works. The tone among the artists – women and men – was generally sexist, crude and transgressive. At group exhibitions, the men steered the course of the battle with a heavy hand and insulting and condescending language towards the women. Huge frustrations arose during these space negotiations between colleagues, and there was screaming and crying. Subsequently, a lot of alcohol was drunk at the so-called press luncheons, and as the shots took their toll, all emotions were given free rein. It was common to appoint women and shame them for having 'hooked on' one and the other. I myself was exposed to transgressive behavior from artists both physically and verbally – the men who did this were always significantly older than me, and they had a distinct tendency to sexualize collaborative situations and over-focus on my body and my youth. They were constantly intimidating and lurking. If I showed signs of disapproval the hammer dropped promptly and the mood turned in a split second from idealization and covetousness to devaluation and contempt.
#41, Female Artist:
An older professional artist who was my mentor raped me one morning in his studio on the first floor of the house. He took me completely by surprise and for fear of alarming his wife who was preparing lunch for us downstairs in the kitchen of the house, I did not shout or resist. Not a single word was exchanged before or after. I was 24 years old. I tormented myself for a long time with feelings of guilt for having been the cause of this misunderstanding. Immediately after the incident, I cut off all contact with him.
#42, Female Artist:
At the art academy in the 1990s, there was an unhealthy tension between the young female students and their older male teachers. Many of the male teachers had a behavior that was both 'too close' and at the same time easy to deny if the student spoke up. Sexual opportunism and sexualizing comments were rife. Some of the male teachers had a pronounced disdain for female colleagues, especially towards younger female artists who were doing well. There was almost a consensus among these male teachers that, as a female art student, you could just use your body in your practice, and it should probably pay off. They put pressure on female students for us to do it.
#43, Male Artist:
During my time at the academy in the 1990s, I experienced how almost all male teachers had some form of dating and sexual intercourse with the female students, both on study trips and at parties. A single, cultivated it fiercely and was also a very skilled artist. At the time, I didn't see it as crossing the line, but as an expression of sexual freedom – that this was obviously how it happened in the art world!
Mille Kalsmose | Collected Memory (2020).
#44, Female Artist:
In the 1980s I was a student representative on the board of the art academy I attended and participated in the annual status dinner. During the evening, when a lot of alcohol had been consumed, the manager/my teacher took me into the department to look at my graphic prints. He expressed great enthusiasm and said that he would recommend me to Danske Grafikere. For me, as a young student, it was big. I was incredibly happy and proud when I knew that it could pave the way for me artistically to get the huge pat on the back to become a member there. Later in the evening we talked again, and he turned the conversation to the department's upcoming study tour. Here it was bluntly suggested that it would be nice if he and I could "have fun" there. I declined in amazement. In my youthful naivety I had not imagined such a thing. My teacher, whom I greatly admired at the time, was 20 years older than me, and I saw him as a mentor and not as a future sex partner. Besides, he was married.
The following week there was an image review at the department. And here I and my graphic prints were criticized to bits and pieces in front of my fellow students. What had been fine and expressive that evening was now murky and impure. And I was told that I was not ready to be admitted to Danske Grafikere - it was too early.
It totally freaked me out and ruined the last year of the academy for me. The man I had admired and looked up to as my mentor turned on me and ignored me for the rest of my college days. I later found out that I was not the first student he had tried or, more specifically, "enjoyed" himself with. He found another young student with whom he "had fun" afterwards."
#45, Female Artist:
When I went to one of the preparatory schools for the art academies, we had a daily manager who was pretty much the school itself. He was in charge of the teaching, apart from shorter periods when he hired changing guest teachers on a weekly basis. He had his favorite students and those he disliked. He fell in love with one of the girls in my year, whom he called privately after school. She thought it was deeply unpleasant, and I remember that the rest of us just stayed far away, to avoid falling out of favor with him.
#46, female artist:
When I started at the art academy in the 00s, there was a teacher who was an alcoholic and drank heavily during working hours. His teaching was a concoction of drinking and macho culture. Gold beer was to be drunk for the studio talks and during the critique class. He created one boys club among his students, who were the ones who could last long into the night in the town's taverns, because it was said that "you got exhibition contracts with the gallerists there". He divided the students and played them against each other by discriminating between the "painters" and "the others", as well as the painting elite and the other painters. The macho-like, divisive and competitive tone characterized the social gatherings of our cohort. He was an outspoken racist, homophobe and slept with the female students, which everyone knew. I recall that at least two female students had a sexual relationship with him. He once invited a gay artist in to do an artist talk for us, just to ridicule his identity-based art practice and humiliate him with homophobic slurs. When a student tried to problematize it at the next department assembly, by making a speech in front of the department head, the department's lecturers and students, she was simply ridiculed. At the vernissage at this year's tour, I was standing with the same student, the famous teacher and the head of department and talking, when the teacher suddenly grabbed the student's breasts. She responded by slapping him and the head of department just laughed goofily at the awkward situation. The same teacher invited many female students into his studio to paint "their hair". At some point it had become my turn. He kept asking me if he could dye my hair and I didn't dare say no, but did everything to avoid being in private with him. It is not my impression that any personnel case was ever opened against him, or that his behavior had consequences in the form of action by the art academy. In return, he got a big decorating task at the school when he left.
#47, Female Artist:
I am employed at the Academy of Arts, where a lecturer has had a personnel case for, among other things, having had sexual relations with one – perhaps two – female students. He pleads not guilty – not because he has not done it, he argues, but because there was nothing wrong in doing it, as there were no clear rules in the area until after this case. I find that the MeToo wave has meant that sexual abuse is now being reported and attempted to be taken care of, but at the same time there are strong conservative forces at play, where the academy's students are being singled out in the national media for being ready for abuse. The articles ridicule the newly established whistleblower scheme and mock the identity politics that would otherwise make it possible to establish a common understanding of discrimination based on gender, sexuality, class, culture and skin colour. The shaming that occurs by mocking the actions following the MeToo cases and even publishing the students' internal discussions on the subject in the classroom makes it difficult both for students and for us in the faculty at the academy to talk about the discrimination that takes place.
NEED ADVICE?
Contact BKF's lawyer, if you need help in a case of sexism in the art world. He can assess whether a case can be pursued legally or refer you to other relevant advice.