NCWNZ representatives were warmly invited by City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi to attend the launch of the inaugural Women’s Art Fund at Oriental Bay in Wellington. We are grateful to Liz and Robert of Foggy Valley Aotearoa Trust for hosting this special event and welcoming us into a space filled with enthusiasm for creativity, equity, and cultural leadership.

During the evening, we had the opportunity to hear from the inspiring women behind the Women’s Art Fund and their project and vision. The fund aims to provide vital financial support for the creation of new works by women artists and designers, and to address gender inequities in the arts, including the underrepresentation of women in solo exhibitions, gallery representation, and public commissions.

Speakers shared alarming statistics that highlighted the urgency of this initiative: although 70% of fine arts students in Aotearoa are women, only 37% of artists represented by dealers and 40% of solo exhibitions in public galleries feature women. A striking example illustrated this imbalance: in a fine arts class of 22 women and eight men, only four of the “successful” artists are likely to be female, giving men a 75% chance of success compared to just 18% for women. Men also have 30% more opportunities to exhibit in public galleries.

Guests were encouraged to take part in this project by contributing donations to help achieve the fund’s goal of supporting women’s voices and creativity in the arts. On the night, $23,500 was raised towards the target of $250,000 marking an inspiring beginning for this important initiative.

The launch of the Women’s Art Fund represents an important step toward expanding opportunities for women artists to create and exhibit their work. You can read more about the initiative at this website: https://citygallery.org.nz/womens-art-fund/.

By

Carin Sundstedt, NCWNZ Board Member
and
Manon Valls, NCWNZ Board Administrator

To read more articles from The Circular (September-October 2025) issue 654, click on the tag below.