What If Women Ruled the World?

EMST is pleased to announce the official opening of the fourth and final part of What If Women Ruled the World?, a cycle of exhibitions exclusively dedicated to the work of women artists or artists who identify as female. 

The opening of Part IV is unprecedented, as it represents the moment when EMST is taken over by work by women artists—a first of its kind for a national museum anywhere in the world.

Katerina Gregos, the museum’s artistic director, notes: “An intergenerational, intersectional feminist project with global dimensions, not only does this programme of exhibitions highlight the artistic practices of women from around the world, it also shines a light on artists whose work explores the rich historical, cultural, and socio-political narratives of Greece and Southeast Europe, the Mediterranean, which form an important part of the museum's collection policy.”

The opening, which takes place on Thursday, 13 June 2024 at 8 pm, will inaugurate seven new exhibitions: A solo show of work by Tala Madani, the first in a European museum in more than ten years; a new site-specific commission by Eva Stefani; the first presentation of work by the celebrated British sculptor Phyllida Barlow in Greece, in collaboration with NEON and courtesy of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection; solo presentations of work by Bouchra Khalili and Susan Meiselas; and an exhibition of never-before seen drawings of Eleni Pitari-Pangalou.

As part of this cycle, EMSΤ is also launching a new exhibition series, SPOTLIGHT, which highlights the practice of an artist in its collection in greater depth. The first presentation will feature Bertille Bak. 

Just prior to the official opening, a conversation between renowned Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas and theorist of photography Eduardo Cadava will take place, starting at 6.30pm (in collaboration with the Athens Photo Festival).

To continue the celebration of the opening of Part IV of What if Women Ruled the World?, from 9pm onwards a concert on the EMSΤ rooftop terrace, curated by Franziska Lantz will feature live performances by Acidic Male, Zevla and Franziska Lantz, inviting visitors on a deep journey into electronic dance music.  

Over the course of 2024, What If Women Ruled the World? will have presented a total of 18 solo exhibitions, installations and projects, highlighting the work of 40 women artists. Details of all artists presented as part of What If Women Ruled the World? can be accessed here.

New exhibitions opening on June 13 and on view until November 10, 2024 are: 

Bertille Bak (France): SPOTLIGHT
Curator: Anna Mykoniati

Phyllida Barlow (UK): RIG: untitled; blocks
From the D.Daskalopoulos Collection, organised with NEON
Curator: Tina Pandi

Bouchra Khalili (Morocco/France): Lanternists and Typographers
Curator: Daphne Vitali

Tala Madani (Iran/USA): Shitty Disco
Curator: Ioli Tzanetaki

Susan Meiselas (USA): A Room of Their Own
Curated by Studio Susan Meiselas
Coordination: Stamatis Schizakis, Ioli Tzanetaki 

Eleni Pitari-Pangalou (Greece/Turkey): The Unknown Drawings
Curator: Anna Mykoniati

Eva Stefani (Greece/USA): The Luminous Cave
Curator: Stamatis Schizakis

These are accompanied by exhibitions of work by Danai Anesiadou (Greece/Belgium), Yael Bartana (Israel), Claudia Comte (Switzerland), Hadassah Emmerich (Netherlands), Lola Flash (USA), Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley (USA), Chryssa Romanos (Greece), and Penny Siopis (South Africa).

The exhibition WOMEN, together, curated by Katerina Gregos and Eleni Koukou, forms the backbone for What If Women Ruled the World? The first rehang of the museum's collection since 2019, it addresses a major issue confronting all museums today: the under-representation of women and the urgency of gender equality. It features the first presentation of a number of works from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection Gift to EMSΤ, as well as seven new acquisitions and a new long-term loan of a major work by Etel Adnan, courtesy of the Saradar Collection.

A full-colour publication will be produced on the occasion of this final cycle of exhibitions.

Media enquires
International press: Amanda Kelly and Vanessa Saraceno, Pickles PR / National press: Kassiani Benou, EMST

EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens is funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports. The exhibitions of Claudia Comte, Hadassah Emmerich and Bouchra Khalili form part of the Residency Program of the Project SUB 6.4, “Actions to promote Greek cultural exports and strengthen the Greek cultural name by the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens”, which is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0”, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Hadassah Emmerich’s project is also supported by the Mondriaan Fund.