In the 1980s, many women artists felt their careers were precarious enough that they could not succeed as artists and fight the feminist battle too. The Guerrilla Girls proved them wrong. They succeeded in transforming the relationship between art and politics. They made activism seem not only acceptable, but vital to full participation in the art world.
Ringgold’s work as an artist, an activist, and an educator has influenced both the art world and communities beyond the art world. Her founding or co-founding of many arts organizations focused on issues faced by women of color has created many opportunities for those artists.
Ngāti Kahungunu; typist, teacher, Māori welfare officer, community leader
Kollwitz was instrumental in increasing the visibility and professional validity of women artists in the interwar years. In 1916, she was voted to become the first woman juror of the Berlin New Secession, and in 1919, she became the first woman elected to the Prussian Academy of the Arts (though she refused to use the title of “professor”). She helped found the Society for Women Artists and Friends of Art in 1926 and was appointed the first female department head at the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1928. Kollwitz’s work was internationally renowned in her lifetime.
Jamaican physician Dr Cicely Delphine Williams, OM, CMG, FRCP was best known for her discovery of and research into kwashiorkor, a condition of advanced malnutrition, and her work against the use of sweetened condensed milk and other artificial baby milks as substitutes for human breast milk. One of the first women to graduate from Oxford University, Dr Williams was a key figure in advancing the field of maternal and child health in developing nations. In 1948, she became the first director of Mother and Child Health (MCH) at the newly created World Health Organization (WHO).
Bahamian suffragist Mary “May” Ingraham was the founding president of the Bahamas Women’s Suffrage Movement, as well as a businesswoman who owned properties and ran a store.
Dominican poet Salomé Ureña was an early advocate for women’s higher education in the Dominican Republic.
Carmen Rupe was a trailblazing transgender woman and entertainer, a larger-than-life personality, sex worker, and celebrated LGBTIQ+ icon. Proprietor of several notorious Wellington nightspots and one-time mayoral candidate, she pushed the boundaries of Wellington nightlife and both entertained and outraged New Zealanders during the 1960s and 1970s. The most visible transgender New Zealander of her time, she used her celebrity to advocate for LGBTIQ+ rights. She was well-known for helping homeless people and others in need.
Whāea (mother) Betty Wark worked with ‘at risk’ Māori youth in Auckland for more than 30 years. The product of a difficult childhood, she struggled to provide a family environment to many young people whose lives had been destabilised by mid-twentieth century Māori urbanisation. At Arohanui, the hostel she co-founded and operated, young Māori found a bed, a hot meal, help with addiction, and the prospect of education and reconnection with a resurgent Māori culture.
During the First World War Ngāti Porou leaders encouraged their young tribesmen to enlist in the Māori contingents. Arihia played an important role, organising fund-raising events and providing hospitality to the young recruits. She was a central figure at hui in support of Apirana Ngata’s early economic development schemes, and also at the large gathering at Waiomatatini in February 1917 when the decorative carvings and tukutuku panels in Te Wharehou were unveiled. Those present contributed over £3,000 to help with expenses, but Ngata persuaded the donors to put the money towards the establishment of the Māori Soldiers’ Fund. In 1918 she was made an MBE for her work during the war. In the post-war period, Arihia provided lodging for young men from other tribes who came to learn sheepfarming skills from Ngāti Porou. They often stayed for months at a time, pending placement on a sheep farm by Ngata when he returned from Wellington. Arihia embraced them all as part of her wider family.