Tate reveals five upcoming exhibitions to mark #5WomenArtists campaign

Tate today announced five large-scale solo exhibitions of women artists currently in development, all set to open at its galleries in 2020-21. The announcement was made as part of the #5WomenArtists campaign, organised by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. to coincide with Women’s History Month.

Tate Britain will celebrate two of the most important figurative painters of their generations. In May 2020 the gallery will open the first major survey of the work of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (Turner Prize nominee 2013), followed in 2021 by a career-spanning retrospective of Paula Rego’s paintings, drawings and prints. Tate Modern will highlight the work of two Eastern European sculptors in its 2020 programme, beginning in June with an immersive exhibition of Magdalena Abakanowicz’s huge textile sculptures. This will be followed in November by a retrospective of Maria Bartuszová, an artist renowned for her experimental abstract works in plaster evoking natural forms. In summer 2020, Tate St Ives will stage a major exhibition dedicated to the multisensory work of South Korean artist Haegue Yang.

Many more exhibitions, commissions and displays of women artists at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives are taking place over the course of this year, with more to be announced as part of Tate’s full 2020 programme this summer.

Now in its fourth year, the social media campaign #5WomenArtists takes place each Women’s History Month and aims to increase the awareness of gender inequity in the arts. It began by simply asking the question ‘Can you name five women artists?’ Led by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C., over 1000 galleries, museums and cultural institutions around the world have since taken part in the discussion on their social and digital channels. This year they are also being invited to publicly make pledges or announcements to support gender equity in the arts.

To coincide with International Women’s Day next week, Tate Publishing is also launching two books. The Bigger Picture: Women Who Changed the Art World, written by Sophia Bennett and illustrated by Manjit Thapp, offers young readers an introduction to some of the most renowned women artists. The Art of Feminism, edited by Helena Reckitt and written by Lucinda Gosling, Hilary Robinson and Amy Tobin, traces the way feminists have shaped art and visual culture over the past 150 years.