Symposium: Women in the Museum – Rijksmuseum

Fabric of Fame: Materiality versus the canon

This edition of the annual Rijksmuseum conference Women in the Museum focuses on the materiality of the physical (art) object as a gateway into the history of women makers, users and trendsetters. Studying the different spaces and contexts in which women produced, used, collected and commissioned objects enables us to understand the essential roles women played in art. How do we interrogate, collect and establish meanings from objects in institutions and what is the effect thereof on women’s (in)visibility? And how does researching the physicality of objects enable museums, institutions and individuals to actively diversify – among others – women narratives?

Introduction: Jenny Reynaerts, chair ‘Women of the Rijksmuseum’

Keynote lecture: Hélène Delalex, heritage curator at the Château de Versailles on Marie Antoinette and other female style icons at the French court.

Session 1. The material object: making the invisible visible

This session will delve into women actors related to or connected to the objects, as maker, patron or user. Is an interdisciplinary approach an effective way to challenge the established constructed histories that champion the exceptionality of the individual? Can material research of an object be instrumental in disclosing different narratives?

Speakers:

• Zara Kesterton, PhD. Jesus College, Cambridge on how to make visible the invisible object, as well as its invisible makers.
• Sara van Dijk, curator of textiles, Rijksmuseum, on the upcoming exhibition At Home in the 17th century and its cultural anthropological approach.
• Mercedes Azpilicueta, visual artist and performer, Buenos Aires, on her use of (textile) material to create a decolonial feminist perspective.

Session 2. The 18th century revisited

Your responses to the rewritten 17th century labels which we launched last year proved invaluable and will be taken into account in the next round. At this year’s symposium we invite you to look at and reflect on the new labels in the 18th century galleries, focusing on women actors. Introduction by Naomi Bisping, junior curator and Josephina de Fouw, curator of 18th century paintings of the Rijksmuseum.

Speakers:

• Naomi Bisping & Josephina de Fouw, Curators Decorative Arts and 18th century painting, Rijksmuseum, on the new object labels in the 18th century galleries of the Rijksmuseum.

Session 3. The curating community

On the internet, women in art and history are far more visible than in museums. Knowledge is no longer only held by keepers of collections; instead of experts, individuals and organisations control their own narratives and decide which objects are worthy of selection. Community participation seems a new methodology in curatorial practice, knowledge is shared and offers invaluable opportunities for art organisations to grow, diversify and become more inclusive. What is the effect on gender (art) history within the walls of the museum?

Speakers:

• Imara Limon, chief curator at the Amsterdam Museum, on the project Ode, an invitation to to write an ode to an Amsterdam woman who needs to be remembered.
• Alia Svastika, Yogyakarta Biennale Foundation and member of the International Jury Venice Biennale Art 2024 on geopolitical perspectives and internationalism in art.

Session 4. Deconstructing the canon

Research into women (art)history automatically challenges the traditional canon, still taught in many universities and on display in museums. How does this newly generated research stimulate new perceptions of quality? What is the consequence of the ensuing shift in artistic media practiced by women, which is not necessarily painting, sculpture or drawing? Is the consequence of writing women’s (art) history a deconstruction of the canon?

Speakers:

• Pieter Roelofs, Head of Department Fine Arts, Rijksmuseum on the ‘quality’ debate: the case of Gesina ter Borch’ painting.
• Marjan Sterckx, Ghent University and curator on Untold Stories – Women designers in Belgium 1880-1980, Museum of Design, Brussels.

Concluding remarks:

• Rachel Esner, University of Amsterdam and Academic Director National Research School for Art History, Reflection & Discussion.

We thank

The Women of the Rijksmuseum project is made possible in part by CHANEL, the Susi Zijderveld Fund, the Familie Krouwels Fund, the Machteld Vos & Willem Sijthoff Fund, the Heleen Dura van Oord Fund, the Kind Courage Monique Maarsen Fund, the Familie Staal Fund, the Karin van Leeuwen Fund, the Dreesmann-Beerkens Fund, Sofronie Foundation, the Linne & Marijn Pijnenborg Fund, the Jolanda Degen Fund, the Lara Timmerman Fund, the Antoinette Rolloos Hueber Fund, the Hendrikje Crebolder Fund, Amy Novogratz & Mike Velings, the Femke Dijkhuis Fund, and the Women of the Rijksmuseum Fund.