In Frauenhand | In Her Hand

Art by women is currently on everyone's lips. Exhibitions on women artists are de rigueur these days for museums and cultural institutions who often foreground them as showcases. Women artists undeniably receive more attention today than they did seventy years ago. However, this should not blind us to the fact that female artists are still woefully under-represented in public art collections compared with their male counterparts.

Where does this prejudice against the creative power of women come from? Why has Art History consistently ignored women artists over the centuries? And what conditions were necessary for women to succeed in making art nevertheless, despite huge social restrictions?

The exhibition In Frauenhand | In Her Hand considers these and further questions. Exhibits from the library's own collections are enhanced by external loans to explore themes such as educational opportunities, the choice of models and subjects, self-representation, the establishment of niche sectors, strategies for self-marketing and concessions to the art market.

Well-known artists such as Maria Sibylla Merian, Angelika Kauffmann, Ottilie W. Roederstein or Sophie Taeuber-Arp appear alongside lesser-known artists such as Anna Waser or Clementine Stockar-Escher. Representatives of contemporary art include, among others, Rosina Kuhn, Marguerite Hersberger and Rita Ernst. The debate on art and society is continued in the main Reading Room of the library with the artistic interventions of Cornelia Hesse-Honegger, Elisabeth Eberle and Hanna Koepfle, three generations of women artists working in Zürich today.

Admission to the exhibitions, guided tours and events is free.

In addition to the exhibition in the treasure chamber and the Turicensia Lounge at the ZB, discover the digital exhibition on Pageflow.

The published exhibition guide has been translated and is available digitally in English at: Zürich Open Plattform