Nika Elder, Nikki A. Greene, and Vanessa S. Troiano at 2023 Feminist Art History Conference

From September 26-28, at American University's biennial Feminist Art History Conference (FAHC), scholars from across the world will come together—virtually and in person at the Katzen Arts Center—to explore the power of gender and sexuality in shaping the visual arts throughout history. This year, presenters hail from 19 countries (USA, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, Spain, India, Japan, Brazil, the Netherlands, Hungary, Korea, Portugal, China, France, Taiwan, England, Greece, and Egypt) and more than 20 states. 

Registration is free for AU students and undergraduates from all institutions, $100 for adjunct professors and graduate students, and $125 for the general public. See the full schedule and register.  

Now in its ninth iteration, this event brings together students and scholars of feminist art history to share new research on artists, movements, and themes spanning from antiquity to the present across different global contexts. The conference offers a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of gender and art, make new connections in the field, and see how the past informs the present, says Nika Elder, conference chair and associate professor in AU’s Department of Art. “Looking at art throughout time and across the globe, the conference creates a community of scholars vested in the historical and continued relevance of feminist art and art history.”  

Baltimore Museum of Art, Feminist Art History Conference 2023. Photo: Noah Puzzo.  

The conference will be presented in a flexible format, featuring in-person and online panels and hybrid sessions. Attendees will attend a sold-out tour of the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ new exhibition, Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600–1750, led by senior curator and AU alumna Virginia Treanor (CAS ‘01). FAHC also features two dynamic keynote presentations from leading scholars, each offering topics from their distinct areas of expertise. Joan Breton Connelly (New York University) will present “Archaeologies of Ancient Greek Women: Evidence, Assumptions, and Questions Unasked,” and Dorothy Price, FBA (Courtauld Institute of Art), will deliver “Looking Awry: Gabriele Münter, Modernism, Race, and Representation.” 

The conference features panels that cater to a variety of academic areas and interests. Topics highlight feminist exhibition strategies, textile arts, representations of age, the role of domestic labor, and art as resistance among many others. Additionally, the “State of the Field: Asia” panel will bring together cutting-edge research exploring how gender, sexuality, and power are negotiated in East Asian visual culture. 

Join the conversation! See the full schedule and secure your spot now.  

The Feminist Art History Conference is held in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Katzen Arts Center.