Amalgama Art

Amalgama is a cultural programme and digital platform devoted to exhibiting, promoting and publishing the work of female artists with Spanish, Portuguese, Central and South American heritage: Ibero-American. Our objective is to help reduce the gender gap in the art industry by challenging the stereotypes and misconception that are still experienced by both female and Ibero American artists. We will support and mentor emerging and established artists so they can increase their visibility, participation (number of exhibitions, gallery representation, solo shows, among others) and commercial value in the art market. According to the UBS & Art Basel report, the gender gap within the art industry remains quite high. Between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of female participation increased by 8% (25%-33%). This increase remains quite low if we take into consideration that almost 70% of the graduates from MFA and BA in fine arts are women. The situation is even more complex for Ibero-American women. As Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, curator of Radical Women at the Hammer Museum, said, "the reality is that many more women artists participated in the shaping of twentieth-century art that has been accounted for. In Latin America, this has been partly because of sexism and also because the system, both in the continent and internationally, judges the quality of artists' work on the basis of visibility and success, which are often denied to women." Nevertheless, for the first time in history, this invisibility has finally been exposed. Ibero- American female artists are starting to be recognised as an important part of the global art scene. For example, in 2019, most of the solo shows of the Latin American artists in the US are going to be by women. How can we use this sudden shift in the market to boost their visibility and tackle the preference towards a male aesthetic? The solution is the main drive for AMALGAMA.