We’ll Stay Silent No More

More than 150 artists, directors, and curators, have written a letter denouncing sexual harassment and intimidation in the art world. The letter comes in the wake of the resignation of Artforum co-publisher Knight Landesman, hours after a lawsuit was filed in New York accusing him of sexual harassment. As always, MEANS stands with the Voices.
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We are gallerists, artists, writers, editors, curators, directors, arts administrators, assistants, and interns – workers of the art world – and we have been groped, undermined, harassed, infantilised, scorned, threatened, and intimidated by those in positions of power who control access to resources and opportunities. We have held our tongues, threatened by power wielded over us and promises of institutional access and career advancement.
We are not surprised when curators offer exhibitions or support in exchange for sexual favours. We are not surprised when gallerists romanticise, minimise, and hide sexually abusive behaviour by artists they represent. We are not surprised when a meeting with a collector or a potential patron becomes a sexual proposition. We are not surprised when we are retaliated against for not complying. Abuse of power comes as no surprise.
This letter stems from a group discussion about sexual harassment within our field, following the recent allegations about Knight Landesman’s behaviour. The conversation has branched out internationally to include artists, writers, editors, curators, directors, assistants, interns, and those with positions within institutions. Harder work to advance equity is often expected of and performed by women of colour, trans, and gender nonconforming people. Our efficacy relies on taking this intersection very seriously and not excluding other corroborating factors that contribute to bias, exclusion, and abuse. These additional factors include, but are not limited to, gender identity, ability, religion, class, and immigration status. There is an urgent need to share our accounts of widespread sexism, unequal and inappropriate treatment, harassment and sexual misconduct, which we experience regularly, broadly, and acutely.
Many institutions and individuals with power in the art world espouse the rhetoric of feminism and equity in theory, often financially benefiting from these flimsy claims of progressive politics, while preserving oppressive and harmful sexist norms in practice. Those in power ignore, excuse, or commit everyday instances of harassment and degradation, creating an environment of acceptance of and complicity in many more serious, illegal abuses of power.
The resignation of one publisher from one high-profile magazine does not solve the larger, more insidious problem: an art world that upholds inherited power structures at the cost of ethical behaviour. Similar abuses occur frequently and internationally on a large scale within this industry. We have been silenced, ostracised, pathologized, dismissed as “overreacting”, and threatened when we have tried to expose sexually and emotionally abusive behaviour.
We will be silenced no longer.
We will denounce those who would continue to exploit, silence, and dismiss us. Your actions will no longer be a secret, whispered among us for fear of ostracisation, professional shunning, and recrimination. Where we see the abuse of power, we resolve to speak out, to demand that institutions and individuals address our concerns seriously, and to bring these incidents to light regardless of the perpetrator’s gender.
We will no longer ignore the condescending remarks, the wayward hands on our bodies, the threats and intimidations thinly veiled as flirtation, or the silence from ambitious colleagues. We will not tolerate being shamed or disbelieved, and we will not tolerate the recrimination that comes with speaking out. We will not join “task forces” to solve a problem that is perpetrated upon us.
We, the undersigned – those who have experienced abuse and those standing in solidarity with them – call upon art institutions, boards, and peers to consider their role in the perpetuation of different levels of sexual inequity and abuse, and how they plan to handle these issues in the future.
We are too many, now, to be silenced or ignored.
With all we have experienced and witnessed, this letter should come as no surprise.
Following are some of the signatories. A full list is available at notsurprised.org.
A.L. Steiner, artist
Abigail Browde, theater artist, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Brooklyn
Abigail Child, filmaker
Abigail Toll, Artist assistant and writer, Berlin
Ad Minoliti, artist, Buenos Aires
Ada Potter, Artist & curator, New York City
Addie Wagenknecht, artist, NYC
Adele Eisenstein, curator, New York
Adi Gura, Gallery Director, BRAVERMAN Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Adriana Ramić, Artist, New York
Adriana Zavala, PhD, Curator and Art Historian
Adrianne Rubenstein, artist, New York
Agar Ledo, Curator, MARCO, Museo de Arte Contemporánea, Vigo
Agnieszka Polska, Artist, Warsaw / Berlin
Agustina Ferreyra, Gallery Owner, Galería Agustina Ferreyra, Mexico City
Aileen Murphy, Artist
Aily Nash, Curator, New York
Aimee Friberg, Owner, CULT | Aimee Friberg Exhibitions, San Francisco
Alanna Lockward, Founding Director of Art Labour Archives, Berlin and Santo Domingo
Alessandra Saviotti, Curator
Alex Goldberg, Artist , Self , New York
Alex Mawimbi (formerly Ato Malinda), artist, Rotterdam
Alexandra Baudelot, Co-Director of Les Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, Paris
Alexandra Giniger, Director, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York
Alexandra Schwartz, Art history faculty and independent curator, School of Visual Arts, New York
Alexandra Tatarsky, Writer & Performer, NY
Alexine Chanel , Artist, Weissensee Hochkunstschule, Berlin
Alexis Johnson, Gallery Director
Alhena Katsof, Curator , New York
Alia Farid, Artist
Alice Conconi, Gallery Director, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York
Alice Rawsthorn, Chair and trustee, London
Alice Tippit, Artist, Chicago
Aline Bouvy , Artist, Brussels
Alison Coplan, Curator, New York
Alison Dillulio, Studio Manager
Alison Fox, Artist
Alissa Bennett, Writer, New York
Alissa McKendrick, Artist, New York
Alix Dana, Director, Independent, New York
Aliza Nisenbaum, Artist, Professor, Columbia University, NYC
Allison Card, Gallery Partner, New York
Allison Weisberg, Executive Director & Founder, Recess, Brooklyn
Alyson Shotz, Artist, New York
Amalia Pica, Artist, London
Amanda Ross-Ho, Artist, Los Angeles
Amelia Jones, Professor, USC, Los Angeles
Amy Zion, curator and writer, New York
Amy Balkin, Artist, San Francisco
Amy Whitaker, Assistant Professor, Visual Arts Administration, NYU Steinhardt, New York
Amy Wolf, Private art dealer, New York
Ana Castella, Gallerist, josegarcia ,mx, Mexico City
Ana Gallado, artista, argentina
Ana Janevski, Curator, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Anastasia James , Curator , New York
Andrea Belag, Artist, studio, New York
Andrea Crespo, Artist, New York
Andrea Giunta, Writer and professor, Buenos Aires University, Buenos Aires
Andrea Longacre-White, Artist, Los Angeles
Andrea Scott, writer, New York City
Andrea Valdés, Writer, Barcelona
Andrianna Campbell, Art Historian, CUNY Graduate Center , New York
Angela Dimitrakaki , Writer
Angelina Volk, Gallery owner, Emalin, London
Angie Keefer, Artist
Anicka Yi, Artist, New York
Ann Greene Kelly, Artist, Los Angeles
Anna Daneri, curator, Genova
Anna Craycroft, artist, NYC
Anna Goetz, Curator, Frankfurt am Main / Mexico-City
Annabeth Marks, Artist, New York
Anne Dressen, Curator, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
Anne Ellegood, Curator
Anne Washburn, Playwright, New York
Annette Lemieux, Artist, Professor, Harvard University, Cambridge
Annie Godfrey Larmon, Writer and Editor
Antonia Alampi, Curator, SAVVY Contemporary, Extra City, Berlin
Antonia Hirsch, artist, Berlin
Antonia Majaca, Curator, Berlin
Anuradha Vikram, Artistic Director, 18th Street Arts Center, Los Angeles
April Gornik, Artist, 61 Fresh Pond Rd, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Apsara DiQuinzio, Curator, BAMPFA
Ashton Cooper, writer, curator, and gallery worker
Aslihan Demirtas, Architect, artist, writer, teacher, Istanbul
Astrid Mania, Professor for art history / art critic, Berlin
Attilia Fattori Franchini, Curator, London
Aude Pariset, Artist, Berlin
Ava Ansari, Artist, Curator, Poetic Societies, The Arab American National Museum, Detroit
Avery Singer, Artist, New York, NY
Aya Ogawa, Theatre artist, Brooklyn
B. Ingrid Olson , Artist
Banu Cennetoglu, artist, Istanbul
Barb Choit, artist
Barbara Bloemink, Former art museum director, Smithsonian national design museum, cooper-hewitt, New york
Barbara Gladstone, Gallerist, Gladstonegallery, New York
Barbara Sirieix, Independent curator, Paris
Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Artist, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Becca Albee, Artist, New York
Becky Kinder, Artist, New York
benedicte Gyldenstierne sehested, Artist
Beth B, Artist, Filmmaker , B Productions, New Jersy
Beth Fiore, Art Advisor & Curator, Fiore Art Advisory , New York City
Beverly Fishman, Artist, Head of PAinting, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills
Bharti Kher, Artist, Delhi
Bianca Schreiber, Program Coordinator, BAU Institute, New York, NY
Biljana Ciric, independent curator, Shanghai and Belgrade
Binna Choi, Director, Casco, Utrecht
Birgit Rathsmann, Artist, Animator, Brooklyn, NY
Bouchra Khalili, Artist, Berlin
Brandy Carstens, Director, New York
Bridget Donahue, Gallery Owner, New York
Bridget Finn, Co-founder, Cleopatra’s, New York
Brigitte Neufeldt, Media Artist, Germany , Monakam
Britta Thie, visual artist, performer, Berlin
Brittany Nelson, Artist, Richmond, VA
Brittni Collins, Arts Administrator , Creative Capital, New York City
Brittni Collins, Arts Administrator , NYC
Caitlin Keogh, Artist
Cajsa von Zeipel , artist, New York City
Candice Breitz, Artist, Berlin
Cara Benedetto, Artist
Caragh Thuring , Artist, London
Carin Kuoni, Director/Curator, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, New York
Carissa Rodriguez, Artist, New York
Carla Acevedo-Yates, Curator, MSU Broad, Lansing, Michigan
Carla Chammas, advisor, New York City
Carmen Hermo, Assistant Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum, New York
Carol Bove, Artist, Brooklyn
Carolina Caycedo, Artist, Los Angeles
Caroline Mesquita, Artist, Paris / Brittany
Carolyn Lazard, Artist
Carolyn Schoerner, Artist book publisher/bookkeeper, Previously White Columns, now Books for All, New York
Carrie Yamaoka, Artist, New York
Casey O’Connell, Freelance , Glasgow
Cassie Griffin, artist, new york
Cassils Cassils, Artist, Los Angeles
Catalina Lozano, curator and writer, Mexico City
Caterina Riva, Curator, Singapore
Catherine Taft, Curator and writer , Los Angeles
Catherine Wood, Senior Curator, Tate Modern, London
Ceci Moss, Director , Gas , Los Angeles, CA
Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Independent curator, Los Angeles
Cecilia Dan, Advisor, Cecilia Dan Fine Art, Los Angeles
Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Curator, Los Angeles
Cecilia Vicuna, artist, self employed, New York
Celia Hempton, Artist, London
Celine Kopp, Director, Triangle France, Marseille
Charlotte Walters, Associate Fair Director , New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) , New York
Charlotte Brathwaite, Director, New York
Charlotte Prodger, Artist , Glasgow
Chelsea Haines, Doctoral candidate, The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY
Chiara Repetto, Art dealer, kaufmann repetto, Milano and New York
Chitra Ganesh, Visual artist, NYC
Chloé Rossetti, Artist and Writer, New York
Christa Blatchford, CEO/ Artist, Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York
Christabel Stewart, Art Editor, curator, ex-Gallerist, Art Review, London
Christina Dimitriadis, Artist, Berlin
Christina Mackie, artist, London
Christine Messineo, Gallerist, Hannah Hoffman, Los Angeles
christine Rebet, Artist , Ny
Christine Zehner, Art advisor, Various, New York
Christy Matson, Artist, Los Angeles
Chus Martínez, Curator
Cindy Sherman, Artist, New York
Claire Le Restif, Director, Le Crédac , Ivry-sur-Seine
Claire Tancons, curator, New Orleans
Claire Barliant, Writer, Cambridge, MA
Claireban Coffey, Studio Manager, New York
Clare Quinlan, Former development professional, Dia and the New Museum, New York City
Claude Adjil, Curator, London
Claudia Altman-Siegel, Gallerist, Altman Siegel, San Francisco
Claudia Peña Salinas, Artist/Art Preparator, Guggenheim, New York
Claudine Elysee, Gallery assistant, New York City
Clemence White, Curatorial Assistant
Coco Fusco, artist/professor, University of Florida, Gainesville
Coco Young , Artist, New york
Colleen Grennan, Gallery Director , Los Angeles
Connie Butler, Curator, Los Angeles
Constance DeJong, artist, writer
Constance Penley, Professor, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
Courtney Willis Blair, Artist Liaison, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York
Cristiana Tejo, Independent Curator, Lisbon/Recife
Cristina Tufino, Artist , New York
Cécile B. Evans, Artist, London
Dai Skuse, Associate Professor, University of Guelph, Gueph, Ontario Canada
Dana Kopel, Editor, curator, writer, New Museum, New York
Danai Anesiadou, Artist
Danielle Dean, Artist, Detroit/Amsterdam
Danijela Dugandzic, Directress at Association for Culture and Art CRVENA and Curator at Red Mined Feminist Curatorial Collective, Sarajevo
Davina Semo, Artist
Deborah Kass, artists, Brooklyn NY
Deborah Schamoni, Gallerist, Munich
Delaney Martin, Artistic Director, New Orleans and Los Angeles
Dena Yago, Artist, Los Angeles
Devika Daulet-Singj, Gallery Owner , Photoink, New Delhi
Diana Betancourt, Curator , Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka
Dianna Molzan, Artist, Los Angeles
Dina Deitsch, Gallery Director, Tufts University Art Galleries, Boston and Medford
Dina Weiss, Artist, Professor, and Assistant Chair, Pratt Institute , New York
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Artist, Paris
Dora Budor, Artist, New York
Doreen Mende, Curator, writer and theorist, Berlin/Geneva
Dorothée Dupuis, Director and Founder, Terremoto Magazine, Mexico City
Drae Campbell, actor, self employed, Brooklyn, NY
Débora Delmar, artist, London
Débora Delmar, Artist, Mexico City/ London
Elana Rubinfeld, Advisor , Los Angeles
Eleanor Cayre, Art advisor, Cayre Art Group , NYC
Elena Filipovic, Director/Curator, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
Elena Tavecchia, Studio manager and curator, New York
Eleonora Oreggia, Artist, Queen Mary University of London, London
Elisabeth Sherman , curator, New York
Elisabeth Lebovici, Art critic, Paris
Elisabeth McAvoy, former Artforum staff member
Elise Lammer, Curator, Rome, Italy
Eliza Ryan, Curator and Producer, New York
Elizabeth Jaeger, Artist, book publisher , New York
Elizabeth Jaeger, Artist, New York
Ella Dawn McGeough, Artist, Toronto
Ellen Freed, Artist, London
Ellie Rines, Gallery Owner, 56 Henry, New York
Eloise Hawser, Artist, London, London
Els Silvrants-Barclay, Co-Director of Netwerk, Aalst
Elvia Wilk, Writer, New York
Elvira Dyangani Ose, Lecturer / Curator, Goldsmiths / Creative Time, London / New York
Elyse Derosia, Gallery Owner, Bodega, New York
Emilie Villez, Director, Kadist , Paris
Emily Guzman Sufrin, Former curatorial assistant
Emily Hunt, Poet & Arts Professional
Emily Mae Smith, Artist, self , Brooklyn
Emily Segal , Artist and Writer , Berlin / New York
Emily Shanahan, Artist, New York
Emma Astner, Gallery Owner, Koppe Astner, Glasgow
Emma Fernberger, Director of Artist/City, Bortolami, New York
Emma Hedditch, Artist, New York
Erica Baum, Artist, Studio, New York
Erika Anderson, Gallery Assistant, New york
Erika Balsom, Writer , London
Erin Leland, Artist, New York
Erin Somerville, Curator, White Columns, New York
Erin Goldberger, Director and owner, Half Gallery, New Release Gallery, New York City
Erin McMonagle, Events, New York
Erin Rommel, Designer
Erin Shirreff, Artist, New York
Eriola Pira, Curator, NARS Foundation, New York
Erëmirë Krasniqi, Researcher/ Curator, Kosovo Oral History Initiative, Pristina
Eungie Joo, Curator
Eva Barois de Caevel, Curator, Paris
Eva Franch , Architect / Curator and Director, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York
Eva Scharrer, curator, writer, editor, Berlin
Eva Thorne , Graphic designer, Kellenberger-White , London
Eva Ursprung, artist, puchstrasse 41, graz
Fabienne Audeoud, artist, Paris
Fabienne Lasserre, Artist
Fadwa Naamna, Curator, Amsterdam
Fanny Singer, Arts writer / editor, Freelance / The Wall Street Journal Magazine, London
Fawz Kabra, Curator
Fernanda Pitta, curator, Pinacoteca de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo
Filipa César, Artist and filmmaker, Berlin
Filipa Ramos, Editor and writer, art agenda, London
Finola Jones, Gallery owner/Director, mother’s tankstation, Dublin
Fiona Bate, Gallery Owner, SANDY BROWN, Berlin
Flaka Haliti, Artist, Munich
Flame *, Artists, Berlin
Fleur Breteau, Writer, Paris
Florence Derieux, Director of Exhibitions, Hauser & Wirth, New York
Florencia Portocarrero , Curator , Bisagra , Berlin