Bold Women

February 18, 2025–July 6, 2025

Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, Dolph Simons Family Gallery, Estelle S. and Robert A. Long Ellis Foundation Gallery, Larry & Barbara Marshall Family Balcony

An African American female mannequin stands with outstretched arms wearing a purple and blue dress with a large skirt and a white maid’s apron

Mary Sibande, Sophie-Ntombikayise, 2009, Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Art Acquisition Fund, 2011.0007

Bold Women is an expansive exhibition that presents the visionary work of women artists. The show emphasizes the essential contributions of artists from diverse backgrounds, especially women of color, LGBTQ+ artists, and artists of intersecting identities.

With more than 75 works in many mediums, the exhibition explores the ways that women have pushed the boundaries of art and spurred critical social and cultural changes across generations and geographies. The artists create change in part by using innovative materials, bold concepts, and vital experimentation that have also altered the development of modern and contemporary art. At the heart of the exhibition is the idea of boldness, presented as a defining attribute of the featured works and an indicator of the artists’ fearless efforts to alter institutional systems, dispute dominant historical narratives, and envision and enact equity and access.

Bold Women was organized by Curator Susan Earle and co-developed with advisors Kimberli Gant and Wanda Nanibush, and assisted by advisors Marla A. Jackson and Rose Bryant, along with KU students Lena Mose-Vargas, Sarah Dyer, Sara Johnson, and Maggie Vaughn.

Supporters

This exhibition and related programs are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the R.C. Kemper, Jr. Charitable Trust & Foundation, the Art Dealers Association of America Foundation, Every Page Foundation, a 2024 KU Racial Equity Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Award from the KU Office of Research, Jeff and Mary Weinberg, and Elizabeth Schultz. Additional support comes from the Spencer Museum International Artist-in-Residence program, the Linda Inman Bailey Exhibitions Fund, KU Student Senate, and Friends of the Art Museum.

Related Events

March 25
Talk
Motion and Meaning: Art Beyond Conflict with Artist Shiva Ahmadi
6:00–7:30PM
March 27
Activity
Zines and Za
6:00–7:30PM
March 29
Activity
Modern Monoprints
1:00–4:00PM
April 1
Talk
In New Orleans Everyone is a Queen!
12:00–1:00PM
April 4
Activity
Chinese Ink Painting with Hong Chun Zhang
2:00–3:30PM
April 8
Activity
Women Artists
1:00–3:00PM
April 18
Talk
Kandace Creel Falcón Artist Talk
3:00–4:00PM
April 24
Performance
Snap, snap, begin again: An Improvised Performance for Bold Women
6:00–6:50PM
April 26
Performance
Snap, snap, begin again: An Improvised Performance for Bold Women
2:00–2:50PM
May 1
Talk
Conversation 5: Gender and Sexuality
5:30–6:30PM
May 17
Performance
Lawrence Community Orchestra String Quartet
2:00–3:00PM

Exhibition Resources

View full exhibition record

Explore this exhibition in our online collection to find a complete object list, label text, and additional images.

Explore the accompanying virtual exhibition