A STUDY OF SIX FEMINIST ART COLLECTIVES ON THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES, ACTIVE BETWEEN 1980–2005
LORALEE EDWARDS
Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Lethbridge, 2005
A Thesis
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies
of the University of Lethbridge Studies
in Partial Fulfilment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS, WOMEN’S STUDIES
Women’s Studies Program
University of Lethbridge
LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA
Loralee Edwards, 2008
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A STUDY OF SIX ART FEMINIST COLLECTIVES ON THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES,
ACTIVE BETWEEN 1980–2005
LORALEE EDWARDS
Approved:
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Supervisor / ______/ ______/ ______/ ______
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Thesis Examination
Committee Member / ______/ ______/ ______/ ______
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External Examiner / ______/ ______/ ______/ ______
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1
Dedication
I dedicate this work to Paul, who was my editor, friend, cook, driver, and support through this process and always;
and my immediate and lovely family – all 16 of you,
who encouraged me through this process.
AND
I dedicate this work to the women who shared their stories, experiences, and insights with me, I am honoured to have met all of you.
Abstract
This thesis attempts to theorize some of the questions surrounding feminist collectively by examining six feminist art collectives (Adamant Eve, The ( )ette Collective, Finger in the Dyke, Herland, the Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective, and Sugar and Splice) that were active on the Canadian prairie between 1980 and 2005. The purpose of my own research is two-fold: first, to describe and document the structural operations of six contemporary feminist collectives involved in cultural activism on the Canadian prairies; and second, to study their operating structure of these collectives. Specifically, it examines four factors resulting in either conflict or cohesion within a collective, the ways in which collectives engage with activism either theoretically or practically, and the strengths and weaknesses of sociability in feminist collectives. Then add something about the conclusions??
Acknowledgements
I would especially like to acknowledge the following people who where instrumental in the compilation of this research: Carol Williams, my supervisor, for her advice, encouragement, and patience. Mary Kavanagh, Muriel Mellow for their direction, Dagmar Dahle and Josie Mills…? independent studies, Jo Fiske for providing emotional support and a space to write, Dayna Daniels, for stopping by every once to ask how I was doing, Kelly Andres who inspired and began this journey with me, The ( )ette Collective: Cayley Sorochan, Jen Rogan, Kim Grift, Sylvia Power, Jenna Montgomery, and Kelly Andres who inspired this research, Crystal my office mate who encouraged me and kept me caffeinated, Brian Heinrich for his invaluable discussions and editing, Shannon Phillips for editing and encouragement, and Heather Lidberg, my research assistant who travelled the prairies and British Columbia, camped in my Westvalia, and edited video on various picnic tables in various campgrounds, and through it all kept smiling and kept me smiling.
I grateful for the financial support of: the Social Science Research Council of Humanities, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, University of Lethbridge’s Keith and Hope Ferguson Award, University of Lethbridge Graduate Scholarships, and the Alberta Person’s Case Scholarship.
Table of Contents
Title page ...... i
Signature/Approval page ...... ii
Dedication
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Introduction
Setting it up
Activism of this Research
Interview Subjects
Collectives in this Study
Important Discussions
Canadian Feminist Activism’s Diversity
History of Canadian Feminism
First Wave
Second Wave
Third Wave
Fourth wave?
Prairie Contexts
Geographical
Culture
Politics and Economics
Government Support to the Arts
Individual Support
Thesis Map
Literature Review
Existing Literature
Definitions
Collective
Activism
Feminist Art Collective
Activist Art
Collaboration or Collectivity
The Collective Structure
Description
Power Structures
Decision-making Models
Consensus
Consensual
Feminist Bureaucratic/Modified
Hybrid Collective Structures
Factors Effect Decision-Making Process
No Structure
Importance of Product
Coping Strategies for Decision-Making
The Advantages of Organising Collectivity
Disadvantages of Organising Collectively
External Pressure
The Individual within the Collective
Feminist Art and Art Collectives
Advantages of Working Collectively as Artists’
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in an Art Collective
Disadvantages of Working Collectively as Artists’
Conflict Feeds Creativity
Art Collectives, Not Feminist or Activist
Art Collectives in Smaller, more isolated places
New Tools
Key Elements for a Successful Art Collective
Why it is Important to Study Feminist Art Collectives
Methods and Methodology
Introduction
Feminist Standpoint Epistemology
Methods of Data Collection
Oral History/Qualitative Interviews
Insider/Outsider
Situating Myself in my Research
My Story
My Politics
Why I undertook this research
Awareness of Bias’
Activism of this project
Research Design
Research Subject Criteria
Locating Research Subjects
Homogeneity of Interview Subjects
Collectives I Did Not Interview
Ephemeral Traces
Pre-Interview Research
Field Methods
Contact with Interviewees
Ethics
Interview Questions
Interview Process
Style
Double Interviews
Locations
Length
Recording Methods
Gathering Other Data
Data Analysis
Upon Reflection
Use of Language/Questions
Time
Sharing/Archiving the Data
Researcher/Assistant Relationship
The Beginning
Attempting Collaboration
The Complications – Power Dynamics
Equality
Summary
Theoretical and Practical
Summary
Definitions
Conflict and Cohesion
Situating myself
Discomfort discussing conflict
The first factor: collective size/established task and system
The second factor: group homogeneity
Race
Work and life experience
Creative Tensions
Established relationships
Sociability
Pleasure
Conclusion
Bibliography
Individual Interviews
1
Introduction
Setting it up
In 2005, five women, members of The ( )ette (blankette) Collective in Lethbridge, Alberta, organised a feminist video festival. Held between September 28th to 30th, the event showcased the work of local, national, and international independent artists. Entries were solicited by an international call for submissions. Screenings on all three evening of the event filled to capacity, students from the University of Lethbridge wrote about the event in their classes, and organisers received email thanking them for organizing such an event in Lethbridge, and a review article appeared in the local newspaper. By all accounts, the event was a success.
Yet, without permanent documentation, cultural events such as The ( )ette Collective film festival simply disappear. As a founding member of The ( )ette Collective, my involvement in this group of artists prompted me to study feminist collectives and cultural activism on the Canadian prairies, focusing on the years between 1980 to 2005. While general histories of Canadian women are numerous, ‘little historical research has been done on the modern feminist movement’ in Canada (Taylor & Owram, 1994, p. 204). By collecting 24 individual histories of prairie women actively engaged in contemporary feminist art collectives, this research will contribute to the history of Canadian feminist activism.
I undertook this research project because I believe the and issues of feminist collectivity are complex; therefore, this study aims to discover what can be learned about collectives and women’s experiences within them. My research identifies and documents six contemporary feminist (and culturally activist) art collectives operating in the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) in order both to record a history of their collectives and the events and projects they have completed.[1] Considering oral histories collected from 24 individual members of six different prairie collectives, this thesis provides a history, of these collectives in order to gain insight into prairie feminist who use art to work for social change. Until now, a history of prairie art collectives has not been recorded and studied.
Additionally, I document how these collectives use art and activism to raise consciousness within their communities, demonstrating that women on the Canadian prairies are organizing collectively to create and promote feminist art. Art, these women’s initiatives imply is, a viable forum for public debate and political change.
Art collectives organise to challenge the hierarchal structures of art galleries and museums and to confront the Kantian concept of the heroic lone (male) genius artist, heightened in the modernist era, and which is still prevalent in the art world (Guerilla Girls, 2004). Many feminist artists in the 1970s organised into collectives to resist sexism and to provide women access to exhibition spaces (Nemser, 1975); even today, feminist collectives such as the Guerilla Girls in the United States continue the fight against the sexism and inequality that still exists in the administrative operations of galleries and museums.[2]
My interest in feminist art collectives, particularly on the Canadian prairies, arose from my personal involvement with The ( )ette Collective in Lethbridge, Alberta. First, I simply wanted to find other art activist collectives on the prairies with the intent to perhaps find, join or even create a social network to combat the isolation that I, and members of my collective felt, as feminists artists in a primarily conservative environment. Second, I wanted to discover how other collectives managed conflict. At one point, The ( )ette Collective experienced an internal conflict, the repercussions of which almost broke up the group. However, our desire to continue to create art together allowed us to overcome that conflict. The incident fuelled my desire to learn about other collectives and discover how they deal with conflict and power dynamics.
In chapter three, I discuss in detail my search criteria to find collectives on the prairies. Here, I briefly describe each collective I interviewed as well as why I chose each group for my research. All six of the collectives studied in this research have created or promoted art for cultural activism within the last 25 years.
Activism of this Research
This research project continues my feminist activism, as the results include this a documentary video, a Web site, and a multi-event exhibition, in addition to this thesis. I have chosen these four ways to disseminate this research as it is vital that these collectives, their actions, and their collective experiences are not only recorded, but that knowledge about them is made available to a wider public audience. Since feminist activism and research is concerned with social and cultural change, it is important that this research, which chronicles and examines feminist activism on the Canadian prairies, be available to a wide audience not only to recognize publicly the actions of these women, but also to create spaces for further activism.
Women repeatedly stated that the web was a great way to connect with women in other places to share knowledge and experiences. Jen, founding member of Sugar and Splice even stated the importance of connecting through the web:
It’s almost like support just to know [other women] are out there…I was talking to my friend, and we have friends that are not doing their masters, when they finished their [undergraduate degree] they went to work, and so we don’t know where the feminist are…we are not visible to each other because we all have different realities, we’re working, we are burnt out…if there was just something there to learn that people are still out there, to make women, feminists visible-just for a security blanket. Cyber networking is good because no one has any money, and I really like the idea of taking up cyberspace, and I like the idea of someone else being way out ‘there’ and Googling and being able to find out about feminist radio, feminist film, feminist art, and then finding links to other women in other places…I just like the idea of taking up space and the idea that what you’re doing is taking up a chunk of history (Interview, p. 24).
As I travelled across Canada to collect my research data, I heard the same sort of sentiments from the women I met; they asked me what other women were doing, in fact, their desire and excitement to discover and share stories of feminist activism on the prairies was the inspiration for my plans to create a self-reporting, networking website for feminists art activist collectives on the prairies upon the completion of this project. The Web is not only a place that women can network with other women, but it is also a space is safe for women to be feminists (Ducan, 2005, p. 164); something they might not experience in their communities
The results of this research are not simply about the participants; they are also for the participants (Nagy Hesse-Biber, Leavy & Yaiser, 2004). This research is a tribute to the prairie women in Canada who have organised, engaged, and promoted, feminist art for cultural activism; it represents their events, actions, and collective work most of which has not been recorded, but are significant.
Interview Subjects
Collectives in this Study
In Alberta, I interviewed 11 women from three different collectives: The ( )ette Collective, Adamant Eve, and Herland.The ( )ette Collective was established in 2003 by four women: Kim Grift, Jen Rogan, Cayley Sorochan, and me; we were all undergraduate fine art students at the University of Lethbridge. The membership evolved and in the summer of 2005, I interviewed the current members at that time: Kelly Andres, Jenna Montgomery, Sylvia Power, and Cayley Sorochan.[3] The mandate of the collectiveis to promote feminismand cultural activism through our art projects, and public performances, and events that interrogate language as a site of power.
Jana Razga transformed Adamant Eve, an Edmonton feminist radio show, into a collective in 1994. The collective includes disc jockeys and producers who collectively produce a half-hour, weekly feminist spoken-word program on CJSR, Edmonton’s campus and community radio station, based at the University of Alberta. Despite annual changes in collective members and pressure from the radio station to operate under a hierarchy, Adamant Eve has adamantly remained collectively organised for 17 years. I also interviewed Anna Carastathis, an Adamant Eve member from 2001 to 2003.[4]
Herland organises the annual Herland Film and Video Festival in Calgary. Established in 1989 by the Calgary Status of Women Action Committee in partnership with the National Film Board’s Studio D, the festival has grown to an annual week-long event featuring several evenings of feminist film and video, workshops, and a gala celebration. Herland’s structure is different from that of the other collectives I examined in this thesis. Herland has a small core membership (of 4-8) that makes day-to-day decisions and organises events, and a membership of over 400 members, which for the most part is an email list used to advertise events and call for volunteers. However, in 2006, Herland’s membership at large was consulted via email for their opinions on the use of the word feminist in the title in the festival title.[5] I interviewed four current members in May 2006: Sharon Boutlier, Tamrin Hildebrandt, Sandra Law, and Marie;[6] I also interviewed past members Michelle J. Wong and Corrine Cornish.[7]
In Saskatchewan, I interviewed six members of the Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective: Amy Jo Ehman, Sheila Gillgannon, Teresa Harley, Deanna Herman, and Shirley Martin. I was not able to coordinate interviews with other current members: Cheryl Avery, Patty Williams (Nova Scotia), or Roma Kail (Toronto). Formed in 1975, this collective produces an annual calendar featuring the often-lost histories of 52 different women from across Canada. My research explores how they have maintained longevity and how their collective has evolved over 33 years.[8]
In Manitoba, I interviewed seven women from two different Winnipeg collectives: Finger in the Dyke and Sugar and Splice.Finger in the Dyke creates performances that investigate and challenge socially constructed gender stereotypes. This collective has had the same, and only, two members – Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan – since it formed in 1989, and has made a conscious decision to create and curate art almost exclusively as a collective. Sugar and Splice, a collective formed by professors and undergraduate students at the University of Winnipeg in 2004, organises an annual film festival featuring local and international artists. This young collective has gone through many member changes in its short three years of operation. I interviewed the four current members: Jennifer (Jenny) Birsch, Allyson Bile, Alyson (Alli) Brickey, and Jen Porter; I also interviewed Joey Jakob who was a member in 2004-05.[9]
Important Discussions
I also interviewed two professors from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Dr. Joan Borsa and Dr. Mary Loverod. Dr. Borsa, head of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, has extensive knowledge of Canadian feminist art. She also curates and is a critical writer of art, and in 1987 produced a video, Rewriting the script: Feminism and art in Ontario. I originally contacted Borsa to discuss the video and her experience in filming, editing, and distributing it, as a video on feminist art collectives is part of this thesis project.
In my discussions with Borsa, which occurred towards the end of my fieldwork (July 2006), I confided my disappointment that I was not able to find more feminist art collectives on the prairies; we discussed the ephemeral nature of feminist activist and performance art. Borsa commented that without recorded histories, such as this project, ‘people forget’ (Interview, p. 1). She indicated that the Shoe StringGallery (Saskatoon), now known as the AKA Gallery, was founded as a feminist collective, and brought important feminist artists such as Judy Chicago and her Dinner Party to Saskatoon.[10] I told Borasa I had been to AKA in order to inquire about past or present art collectives in the Saskatoon, and was told they did not know of any. Borsa responded, ‘[T]hat is one example of how something evolved and the history gets lost’ (Interview, p. 1). We discussed how women’s activism is often spontaneous:
[C]ollectives to me has always implied that you organise in some way, it is a bit more official, you give yourselves a name, a structure, are more cohesive…the things I have been involved in were always much more occasional, temporary, spontaneous, itinerant…I think there are many example of these kinds of [groups], but there is no documentation of it (Borsa, Interview, p. 3).