Countess

The latest Countess Report, Australia’s premier reference point on gender representation in the contemporary visual arts, was released in October 2019.

The Report reveals significant gender equity gains across public galleries, artist-run initiatives, major museums and university galleries, biennales, commercial galleries and contemporary art organisations, alongside declines at state galleries and museums.

A total of over 13,000 artists across 184 organisations were counted. 

The Report’s highlights include:

• Women are equally represented (at 50% or higher) in the following categories: art prizes, contemporary art organisations, boards and executive staff, and artist-run spaces;
• Artist-run spaces have exhibited 61.38% women (up from 49.37%), 34.78% men, and 2% non-binary artists;
• Commercial galleries have exhibited 53% women (up from 39%), and 43% of represented artists are women (up from 39%);
• State-owned galleries have exhibited 33.98% women (down from 36.90%) and 66.02% men (up from 56.80%), with no data available on non-binary artists;
• Director or CEO-level roles are held by 61.36% women and 38.63% men overall, while among state-owned galleries, the figures are 12.50% women and 87.50% men.

“Since the release of the inaugural Countess Report in 2016, the Countess Collective has evolved as artists and activists” the Countess Report says. “Our aim in the release of these updated figures is to critically observe the changes in gender representation across the Australian art sector. We intend for these statistics to keep conversations around gender, power and value front of mind at art galleries, museums, art fairs and biennales across the nation.”

Statistical data has been drawn from the nation’s state and publicly funded museums and galleries, the commercial gallery sector, leading contemporary art spaces, public galleries, artist-run initiatives, art fairs, biennales and art prizes. Data counted includes: artists presented in exhibitions, art fairs and biennales; art school graduates; art prize winners; and board members, executive and curatorial staff.

The statistics can be understood within expanded Countess activities which include a new online platform that features essays and resources, as well as artworks. In this context, the data asks questions of labour, counting, intersectional feminism and issues of representation.

The Report was complied by The Countess Report with data collected by a team of counters from across Australia. Counters worked with an emphasis on using primary sources, such as artists websites, to ensure direct evidence and authoritative information and could correctly record gender.

A considered approach has been taken to the counting of non-binary artists, and, like all aspects of the report, this approach is open to critique and improvement so as to prevent misuse of out-of-date or inaccurate information. 

The Countess Report is funded by the Sheila Foundation Ltd (formerly Cruthers Art Foundation), and backed by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA).

The Countess Report was first released in 2016 and is a benchmark piece of research for the Australian visual arts sector.

Produced over a year by artist Elvis Richardson, this report reveals the extent of gender imbalance across the spectrum of the contemporary art world.

Author of the report, artist Elvis Richardson said, “Through my CoUNTess blog, I have been doing some overdue statistical research confirming what many have been discussing too quietly; the systematic gender inequality in the art world.”

Statistical data has been drawn from the nation’s state and publicly funded museums and galleries, the commercial gallery sector, leading contemporary art spaces and artist run initiatives. The report is funded by Western Australia’s Cruthers Art Foundation.

Tamara Winikoff, former Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) observed, “Despite the reputation of the arts as challenging outdated paradigms, it continues to fail on gender issues. Old habits die hard. We thought we’d won the battle in the 80s when the spotlight was shone on the systemic privileging of men in the arts. I hope this excellent report will rekindle the discussion and bring about a much needed change.”

The report highlights that:

• major collecting institutions favour solo exhibitions and the acquisition of new artwork by male artists
• overall women outnumber men as recipients of art prizes, however, when factoring in the prize pool, men receive a higher proportion of the prize money
• at a tertiary level (undergraduate and postgraduate) three quarters of visual arts graduates are women, however, once students graduate there is a significant drop in the programming,
• participation and representation of women artists in the nation’s major institutions, public art events and in the commercial art market
• a higher proportion of women serve in a voluntary capacity on the management committees and boards of Artist Run Initiatives than in each of the major state galleries.

A number of notable Australians from across the arts have contributed to and reviewed the final report including members of its steering committee: Dr. Eva Cox AO, Dr Jacqueline Milner, Tamara Winikoff OAM, Amanda Rowell and John Cruthers.

Dr Eva Cox said “The Countess Report is an essential reminder that gender unfairly affects women in the visual arts, as in all other creative areas. The collected data confirm that biases filter the lived experiences of the 75% female visual arts graduates into only 34% of the creators of the art we see in state museums. The valuable details reported indicate where to search for clues of how masculinised merit judgments have infiltrated the judgment of so many of our cultural institutions, failing to represent the visions of women.”

Cruthers Art Foundation chair and project steering committee member John Cruthers said, “The report should be used to guide funding organisations, galleries, museums, exhibitions, foundations and arts media in areas of gender representation and gender equality. It also establishes a significant benchmark for gender representation in the Australian visual art sector so that our future progress towards equality can be quantified.”