Statistics on how the Brazilian population occupies economic and social spaces generally show a wide discrepancy between the positions attained by men and women. Yet it is women who lead the visual arts market, as a recent Folha de S. Paulo article showed.
What the Folha report says
The report by Bárbara Blum states that "in business, they are the ones calling the shots. With women in the names, in the founding, in the management and on the boards, São Paulo's commercial art scene bubbles with women bosses at the helm of the main galleries and fairs and in the articulation of its ecosystem, which includes the buying and selling of works and the social life of the art world, with its cocktail parties, dinners and vernissages".
Luisa Strina and Raquel Arnaud, 50 years each
Women's presence in this market is the result of knowledge, persistence and an accurate reading of scenarios. That is how Luisa Strina and Raquel Arnaud became pioneers in several respects, including the decision to represent a select list of artists and to build aesthetic coherence in what they exhibit and sell. Both galleries, which bear their founders' names, are celebrating 50 years of activity.
The article also covers the trajectory of gallerists and business partners Márcia Fortes and Alessandra D'Aloia; of Pernambuco-born Nara Rosler and her commercial success; of Minas Gerais-born Jaqueline Martins, owner of a space in Vila Buarque focused on conceptual art; of Maria Montero, who runs an independent space; and of Igi Ayedun, the first Black woman to own an art gallery in Brazil.
Women lead the fairs too
And it is not only the galleries that have women at the helm: the article also highlights women's leadership at Brazil's biggest art fairs, as in the case of SP-Arte, led by Fernanda Feitosa. The full text is well worth reading.
