An accompanying event to the exhibition "The Woman Question 1550–2025". A meeting in English with interpretation into Polish and Polish Sign Language (PJM) Free admission thanks to cooperation with Audi MSN Auditorium Online broadcast available on the MSN YouTube channel (English only) Katy Hessel is an art historian specializing in women's creativity, author of the international bestseller The Story of Art Without Men, and host of the popular podcast The Great Women Artists. On the occasion of the Polish premiere of her latest book "How To Live An Artful Life," Marginesy Publishing House and the Museum of Modern Art have invited Katy to Warsaw to meet the public and talk about her books, research, and outreach activities. The conversation will be led by Alison Gingeras, curator of the exhibition "The Woman Question 1550–2025" at MSN. The works gathered there are a testament to 500 years of women's creative activity—from Renaissance and Baroque painting to the latest works. Key themes from the exhibition—the specificity of women's creativity, unequal treatment of women in the art world, tactics used by female artists in their struggle for independence and visibility, and stories of rediscovering "forgotten artists"—will provide important context for the discussion between the guests. Katy Hessel – art historian, author of the international bestseller "The Story of Art Without Men," awarded Waterstones Book of the Year. She runs the @thegreatwomenartists account on Instagram and the podcast The Great Women Artists, where she has interviewed, among others, Tracey Emin and Marina Abramović. She is a columnist for The Guardian, a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge, and a board member of the Charleston creators' organization. In 2024, she launched the audio series Museums Without Men, dedicated to works by female artists present in museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Tate Britain. Alison M. Gingeras is a curator and author of books and essays, known for her scholarly yet anarchic approach to art history. She has worked as a curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Pompidou, and Palazzo Grassi in Venice, where she has organized many high-profile exhibitions over the past twenty years. At the Centre Pompidou, she curated the exhibition "Cher Peintre: Painting the Figure Since Late Picabia" (2002–2003) and a Daniel Buren retrospective (2002). She co-curated the exhibition "Pop Life: Art in a Material World" (2009) at Tate Modern in London. As a guest curator, she organized two monographic exhibitions devoted to figures important to Polish art: "Once Upon a Time, Erna Rosenstein" at Hauser and Wirth in New York and "My Name is Maryan" shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami (2022) and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2023). Over the past thirty years, Gingeras has published numerous essays in books and magazines such as Artforum, Tate Etc., Playboy, Spike, and Mousse. "How To Live An Artful Life" Premiere: 12.11.2025 Translation: Kaja Gucio A year of living art every day awaits you. How will you use it? Enter the new year with wisdom from Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Marina Abramović, Nan Goldin, Susan Sontag, Zadie Smith, and many others. Their words, drawn from interviews, personal conversations, books, and talks, will guide you through the months, creating space for reflection and inspiration—one thought for each day. Each month carries a leading theme: - January opens new perspectives - March becomes a time of rebirth - July brings a sense of freedom - November encourages reflection on memory and what has passed A year spent in the company of artists is full of promises: unwritten books, unpainted pictures, and meetings with people we have yet to meet. It is a year of learning to look at the world from a new perspective—with sensitivity, courage, and creative mindfulness. "The Story of Art Without Men" Premiere: 15.05.2024 Translation: Małgorzata Glasenapp In the most important American museums, works by men make up 87 percent of collections. In the National Gallery in London, works by women account for 1 percent. Only in 2020 was the first solo exhibition of a classical female artist organized—Artemisia Gentileschi, whose works were shown by the National Gallery in London. Only in 2023 did the Royal Academy of Arts in London host its first major solo exhibition dedicated to a contemporary female artist—Marina Abramović. The history of art as we know it is a story of works and movements created by men. Katy Hessel, curator and art historian, decided to rewrite it, including the perspective of female artists—from the Renaissance to the present. The author examines the profiles of creators with the fascination and seriousness they deserve, placing their work in the context of the dominant artistic trends of their era. She presents them both as participants in the artistic life of their time and as rebels who used their disadvantaged position to explore new areas of art. "Hundreds of unknown or little-known women whom the male-written history of art has forgotten or never discovered. Now they remind us of themselves through the voices of tireless researchers like Katy Hessel, who has compiled this handy compendium. A great starting point for more detailed research for anyone interested" – Anda Rottenberg
