The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous group of feminist artists who have advocated against the lack of representation of female artists and artists of color since the 1980s. Famous for appearing at art galleries wearing gorilla masks to hide their identity, the group’s work includes posters, books, billboards, and public appearances aimed at exposing the gender and racial disparities prevalent in the contemporary art world. 

The group began their work in 1985 to address the lack of female artists featured in galleries throughout New York City. Initially, the group organized protests in front of museums, but these were easily ignored. The Guerrilla Girls decided to take a more creative approach to gain attention: creating their own protest “artwork”. 

The Guerrilla Girls gained widespread attention after wearing gorilla masks to museums and plastering posters around the city with bold, eye-opening facts about underrepresentation in art galleries. Their posters revealed shocking truths such as “5% of art in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of nudes are female” and scandalously challenged art institutions with questions such as “Do women have to get naked to get into the Met. Museum?” Their messaging inspired many New Yorkers, artists, and feminists alike to advocate for a wider representation of perspectives in galleries.

The Guerrilla Girls’ efforts have been widely celebrated in the art world as they started a worldwide conversation around the lack of representation of female artists, which continues today. Their provocative posters are now memorialized in museums such as the Tate Modern, the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and many others. Their artwork displayed serves as a reminder of the strides this group took to support women in a predominantly male-dominated field. 

The group is still active today and continues to push back against sexist agendas in the art world by calling out the gender biases of art critics, curators, and museums. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s important to remember the Guerrilla Girls’ work and how it has impacted generations of female artists. This group paved a path for women in the art field and continuously encourages women to fight the status quo, and unconditionally advocate for equality. •