Guerrilla Girls, Advantages of Being a Woman Artist

“The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist,” 1989, Guerrilla Girls. Poster. Guerrilla Girls records, 1979–2003. Getty Research Institute, 2008.M.14. © Guerrilla Girls, used with permission

Speakers: Alex Jones, curatorial assistant, Getty Research Institute and Dr. Beth Harris, Smarthistory

The Guerrilla Girls are an art collective formed in New York in 1985 to protest sexism and discrimination in the art world. Composed of anonymous members who go by pseudonyms and wear gorilla masks, the group launched a series of poster campaigns that highlighted the lack of representation given to women artists in museums and galleries. Their posters often had a humorous and ironic tone, and their collaborative process is illuminated in their archives, held at the Getty Research Institute, which contain early drafts of “The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist.”

This video was made possible by the GRI Council.

Links:

Guerrilla Girls records, 1979–2003, at the Getty Research Institute:

http://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA...


Exhibition “How to Be a Guerrilla Girl,” on view at the Getty Center from Nov 18, 2025 through April 12, 2026:

https://www.getty.edu/exhibitions/how...

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