100% Women A 12-month programme to support female artists. From March 2019, Richard Saltoun Gallery is dedicating 100% of its programme to women. This 12-month programme is part of the gallery’s long-standing commitment to supporting under-recognised and under-represented artists

100% Women aims to protest the gender inequality that persists in the art world and encourage wider industry action through debate, dialogue and collaboration.

Today less than 30% of artists represented by major commercial galleries in London are women, with only 5% of galleries representing an equal number of male and female artists. In most aspects of the art world ­– from sales and auction results to solo exhibitions in major institutions – male artists continue to outnumber their female counterparts in the majority of activities that signify the development of an artist’s career. According to the 2018 report by the Freelands Foundation, a charitable organisation founded by Elisabeth Murdoch that tackles critical issues of inequality, the representation of women in the commercial gallery section has reached a new low, indicating that women continue to be excluded from the mainstream commercial art market.

Through 100% Women, Richard Saltoun Gallery aims to redress this persistent gender imbalance, whilst cementing its ongoing support of female artists. The programme will pursue its mission through a combination of gallery exhibitions, art fair presentations, a public events programme, external collaborations and digital exhibitions hosted on its new online platform – all of which will feature artists represented by the gallery as well as emerging artists and artists without direct representation in order to achieve greater inclusivity.

Using the camera obscura Sydney-based artist Robyn Stacey depicts South Australia as it has never been seen before. Translating from Latin to mean ‘dark room’ the camera obscura is an optical device of wonder, whereby the external world is trapped and inverted within the room.

For this exhibition, eight large-scale camera obscura photographs by Stacey will be on display. First shown as part of the 2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object, the photographs depict camera obscuras at well-known sites around Adelaide, including the Brookman Building at the University of South Australia, Carrick Hill, The Cedars at Hahndorf, the Institute Building, The Lighthouse Wharf Hotel in Port Adelaide, Parliament House and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).

Robyn Stacey: Ray of Light will tour fourteen regional galleries in South Australia from 2018-2020. Room-sized camera obscuras will be installed at selected venues alongside the exhibition of photographs, allowing visitors to experience this optical device of wonder for themselves.

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