I've been thinking about under-representation of women in galleries. I went to NPG for a talk the other day, when the speaker said the NPG had not bought any more female self portraits since she ran an exhibition about 25 years ago, and they are only funded 30% by Government, and 70% by their own efforts. Someone else at another conference said to forget chronology to get women represented - focus on now. Another fact that I am aware of, is that the NPG Collections policy says they are seeking to increase their depiction of under represented groups - women, ethnic minorities etc, and to increase their non-traditional media. Yet the Annual Portrait Awards only accept oils and other conservative media.
So how about a new portrait competition - specifically excluding the media of the Annual Portrait Awards, inviting artists to create portraits of people who are "significant to the life of Britain" or however the NPG policy phrases it. And the artist statement has to explain how the person an under-represented group and why they are significant to life in Britain today.
Now I just need to find the theories to back up the conclusion I want to draw!
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