Filling the Void in Contemporary Women's Art History: An Interview with Monika Fabijanska, the Curator of The Un-Heroic Act

Abstract

Monika Fabijanska's groundbreaking exhibition The Un-Heroic Act showcased 20 representative artworks to survey the iconographic variety of representations of rape in contemporary women's art in the United States since the 1960s. Organized by the Andrew and Anya Shiva Gallery at John Jay College, City University of New York in 2018, the exhibition's wide range of pieces was brought together in dialogue for the first time to confront prevailing sexual violence misconceptions, rape myths, and to fill the void in women's art history.

In this chapter, Fabijanska is interviewed to glean insight into the curatorial strategies she deploys as challenges and sensitivities surrounding rape play out in the context of an art exhibition and catalog. Although The Un-Heroic Act has attracted substantial media coverage and scholarly attention, the role of curatorial intention and considerations in mediating difficult content to viewers in an educational setting, and shaping understanding of a complex issue, has not yet been explored in depth. Through this interview, these pertinent questions are unpacked.

Addressing some of the curatorial challenges she faced, Fabijanska brings to light the value that exhibition texts, audience engagement programs, contextualizing comments, and teaching hold. She shares her careful selection process, highlighting the necessity of taking a collaborative approach and working toward crafting “safe spaces” within which difficult questions can be broached.

Citation

van der Walt, D. and Fabijanska, M. (2022), "Filling the Void in Contemporary Women's Art History: An Interview with Monika Fabijanska, the Curator of The Un-Heroic Act ", Marshall, J.E. and Skibba, C. (Ed.) Trauma-Informed Pedagogy, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 99-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-497-720221007