Women in Revolt! exhibition: Tribute to trailblazing women artists
Tate Britain's smash hit exhibition 'Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970–1990' is at National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two in Edinburgh until January 2025.
Gina Birch, still from 3 Minute Scream, 1977. Courtesy of the artist. Image credit: National Galleries Scotland.
This feature first appeared in The Sunday Post, 9 June 2024.
When you think of a trailblazing woman, who do you think of?
Maybe heavy hitters like suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, or even pop star sensation Madonna.
But you probably think closer to home too, to a mother, grandmother, sister or friend. To women you see perform amazing feats up close, and who continue to surprise you with their tenacity and joie de vivre no matter the troubles everyday life throws at them.
So it was for Linsey Young, curator of British Contemporary Art at Tate Britain. While growing up in Edinburgh and the Highlands, her mother Gael Stuart was her whole world. A single mum and nurse, Gael juggled a full-time job and a young daughter while still always finding time for fun.
“She was working really hard all of the time but was still an amazing mum. She was really funny, really left-wing, really glamorous,” said Linsey. “Then I grew up and realised that, unlike how it was in my world, women weren’t in charge of everything. It blew my mind that men were telling me what to do, because I wasn’t expecting that!
“So this exhibition is really about women like my mum, who passed away four years ago. Women who were ‘ordinary’ and had ordinary lives and jobs but, actually, were amazing. They were looking after children, had jobs, were going out to meetings and making art afterwards, and not getting the credit for it.”
Linder, Untitled, 1976. © Linder. All rights reserved, DACS 2023 Courtesy the artist and Modern Art, London. Image credit: National Galleries Scotland.
The exhibition is Women In Revolt: Art And Activism In The UK 1970-1990. The show exhibits pieces of all different mediums by more than 100 female artists, whose work was often a defiant answer to the many issues British women were facing at that time, be they in the home, in the street, or in the highest echelons of parliament.
Touring from Tate Britain in London, Women In Revolt is now at National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two in Edinburgh until January. It arrives north of the border amid a great deal of buzz, having smashed expected attendance rates at Tate Britain by double.
Linsey said: “What I loved is that the gallery felt so full of energy. We had women of a certain age coming in with their friends and holding court, which I just loved. We had lots of young people too, and intergenerational visits, which I hope happens in Edinburgh as well. It felt like a lot of mothers and grandmothers taking their children and grandchildren along to show them what they had done, and how they changed the world.”
The idea was to tell a chronological story about women, arts and activism over a 20-year time period, rather than singling out individual artists for special attention. Linsey explained: “I wanted to tell the story of my mum’s generation and pay homage to them. I often think of the words of a friend of mine – curator and academic Irene Rebel – who talked about constellations, not stars, and to map a broader territory rather than focus on individual genius. I think these notions of only one or two people being the most interesting is such a patriarchal, colonial way of looking at something. It’s so exclusionary of the majority of lived experience.
“It’s also really enjoyable for audiences because, if there’s 600 artworks, there’s going to be something there that speaks to you! Something that draws you in and helps to communicate the wider movement.”
On left: Rita Keegan Red Me 1986 UK Government Art Collection; Artwork © Rita Keegan; © Image: Crown Copyright, UK Government Art Collection. On right: Sutapa Biswas Housewives with Steak-Knives © Sutapa Biswas. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Photo by Julie Howden Photography.
Getting the artists to come on board was not always easy. Many were sceptical of the Tate coming knocking on their door after years of being ignored by mainstream art institutions. Linsey said: “There was a healthy amount of suspicion. Many of these women had never been approached by the Tate in any capacity before. You had people who had 30-40 years of really successful careers in independent spaces or their own networks, and national institutions just hadn’t ever engaged with it. So, rightly, they were a bit cautious.
“Because this show came from such a personal space for me, it was important I met as many of them as possible. I spoke to them about the experience and energy we wanted for the show. And they were all really amazing and generous and collaborative throughout the process.”
The exhibition is an eclectic mix of punchy, funny and thought-provoking art that is still as potent as ever, even 30-40 years after it was first made. One installation that was popular in London was Glasgow-born artist Rita McGurn’s life-size crochet of three women reclining and hanging out together. Rita was self-taught, and often used materials that were close to hand around the home. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 75.
Rita McGurn, Untitled Rug and Figures, 1974-1985. Photography by Keith Hunter
In a way, Rita’s work sums up the spirit of the Women In Revolt exhibition. Linsey said: “I wanted it to feel like a really good conversation with your best friends, which for me always includes a bottle of wine and putting the world to rights and talking about absolutely everything.
“Those conversations are often hilarious, heartbreaking, involve crying, laughing – a whole range of emotions. I wanted the tone of the exhibition to feel like that, to feel like a vibrant and eclectic conversation that is unfolding across the galleries.”
You can book tickets for the exhibition here.