Press release

Art world “instrumental” in ending violence against women

Published on 22 November 2021

University of Dundee students will join some of the art world’s leading voices to discuss the medium’s role in ending violence against women.

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Students from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design will reflect on how art has portrayed the issue in the past, while discussing how it can act as a mechanism for change in the future.

They will join Dr Catherine McCormack, Art Historian and Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art (London), and Sue Williams, an award-winning artist and Professor of Fine Art from the University of Wales Trinity St David. The event will also feature an exclusive interview with Tate artist and the founder of the London Women's Art Movement in 1970, Margaret Harrison.

Titled Art History & Violence Against Women, the event will take place on Thursday 25 November – the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The free, online discussion will take place from 2–5pm.

The event is organised by INGEAR at DJCAD (Intersectional Gender Equality in the Arts Research), which supports marginalised artists and promotes equality in the art world, and is supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

“Art has always served as both a reflection of its time and as a driver for change,” said Dr Helen Gorrill, a lecturer in Contemporary Art Practice at DJCAD.

“Violence against women is a major issue and art is instrumental in helping to highlight this problem.

“Art gives people a voice and we cannot afford to stay silent as part of the struggle to end violence against women, both here in the UK and around the world. On what is a hugely significant day, bringing together new voices with some of art’s most respected figures helps to keep this important subject at the forefront of the public consciousness.”

Art History & Violence Against Women takes place online on Thursday 25 November from 2-5pm. Attendance is free but registration must be completed in advance online.

Enquiries

Jonathan Watson

Senior Press Officer

+44 (0)1382 381489

j.s.watson@dundee.ac.uk