Introducing a New Art Critic
April 23 2020
Picture: via. Twitter @Barbiereports
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This is Art Activist Barbie, a new and increasingly influential art critic who has been causing quite a stir in the press and on social media recently. Her role is reporting predominantly on gender representation, inequalities and injustices in art galleries and museums. Her twitter profile, which has close to 13,000 followers, is filled with very eye catching and witty tableaus featuring Barbie Dolls visiting galleries with miniature placards (as pictured).
The project is run by Sarah Williamson, a senior lecturer at the School of Education and Professional Development at the University of Huddersfield. Her interesting project is detailed in full on the University's website.
As the project's page reveals;
Art galleries and museums are seen by many as trusted, authoritative and influential places and the ArtActivistBarbie project researches the potential of these places as spaces for action to educate for social justice and promote change.
...
The feminist, activist use of Barbie dolls in these spaces may be viewed as a form of ‘culture jamming’, which can give agency through creative subversion and give voice via a form of radical ventriloquism.
