Masked art activists Guerrilla Girls to run VCA workshops

Victorian College of the Arts students will receive a crash course in how art can be used as a tool of protest and as a catalyst for social change, by a group self-styled American 'masked avengers'. Frida Kahlo and Kathe Kollwitz, two founding members of the internationally renowned New York-based arts activist group Guerrilla Girls will conduct a two hour long 'issues workshop' at the VCA, University of Melbourne. Guerrilla Girls is a group of feminists devoted to fighting sexism within the visual fine art world. Started in New York City in 1985 to protest gender and racial inequality in the art world, members are known for the gorilla masks they wear to keep their anonymity. Describing themselves as feminist masked avengers in the tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Wonder Woman and Batman, Guerilla Girls use facts, humour and outrageous visuals to expose sexism, racism and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture. The group's tireless supporters have disseminated their work around the world. They've appeared at over 90 universities and museums in recent years, as well as in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Bitch, Mother Jones and Artforum; on NPR, the BBC and CBC; and in many art and feminist texts.