Misogyny
Saturday, May 9, 2026, 2 pm
With Kaity Fox, Keta Gavasheli, Alison M. Gingeras, Juliana Gleeson, Susanne Huber, Talia Kwartler, Christian Liclair, Tala Madani, Catherine McCormack, Lucy McKenzie, Nicole Wermers
Concept: Leonie Huber, Anna Sinofzik
Coordination: Krisztina Hunya, Michaela Richter
Misogyny can be understood “as the ‘law enforcement’ branch of a patriarchal order, which has the overall function of policing and enforcing its governing ideology” – explains Kate Manne, moral philosopher and contributor to the current issue of TEXTE ZUR KUNST. Therefore not rooted in the attitudes of individuals, misogyny rather stems from a men’s world that fundamentally constitutes social relations. While it is largely undisputed that the art world has historically been such a male-dominated sphere, it is often assumed today that the feminisms of the past decades have had an impact, and that at least the sectors of contemporary art positioning themselves as left-wing and progressive no longer fit this image. Nevertheless, female and nonbinary artists remain underrepresented in exhibitions and collections, and are less successful in the art market compared to their male peers. Alongside this material inequality, overt discrimination, and misogynistic remarks, sexist mindsets often manifest more subtly within the art field.
While the TEXTE ZUR KUNST issue “Misogyny” examines the fundamental sociopolitical and technological conditions that foster the current antifeminist backlash, the symposium at n.b.k. focuses on the questions of how this manifests in the art world, what its relationship is to earlier misogynistic tendencies and tropes, and which artistic, art-historical, and curatorial strategies can be used to counter it. Projections onto and expectations of the female body serve as the basis for analyzing the material and media conditions of feminist critique.
Program
2 pm
Welcome
Michaela Richter (Head of Communications and Discourse Program, n.b.k.) and Anna Sinofzik (Editor-in-Chief, TEXTE ZUR KUNST)
2:30 pm
Interrupting the Iconography of Misogyny: The Ubiquity of Violence and the Invisibility of Pleasure
Lecture by Catherine McCormack (author, art historian, and independent curator, London)
3:00 pm
Why JK Never Became a Track Runner
Lecture by Juliana Gleeson (writer, comedian, and historian, London)
3:30 pm
Audience discussion, moderated by Christian Liclair (art historian and critic, Berlin)
4:30 pm
More than Daughters, Sisters, Wives, and Muses: Relationship Anxiety, Misogyny, and the Canon
Dialogue between Alison M. Gingeras (curator and author, New York and Warsaw) and Talia Kwartler (curator and art historian, Berlin), followed by an audience discussion
6:30 pm
Feminist Critique and the Female Artist
Panel discussion with Tala Madani (artist, Los Angeles), Lucy McKenzie (artist, Brussels), Nicole Wermers (artist, London); moderated by Susanne Huber (researcher in art history and theory, Bremen), followed by a closing discussion
8:30 pm
Inky Mirror, One Way Echo
Sound performance by Kaity Fox (doula, sound artist, and deep listener, Düsseldorf) and Keta Gavasheli (artist, Düsseldorf)
A project by Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) and TEXTE ZUR KUNST
Free admission, no registration needed
In English
Accessibility
The event space is located on the ground floor and wheelchair accessible via a side entrance.
The next public transport stations are: Oranienburger Tor (line U6, elevator available, 500 meters to n.b.k.), Oranienburger Strasse (lines S1, S2, S25, S26, elevator available, 800 meters to n.b.k.), Torstr. / U Oranienburger Tor (lines M5, tram 12, 50–500 meters to n.b.k.).
If you are planning a visit and have questions about accessibility, please don't hesitate to call us: +49 (0)30 280 70 20 (n.b.k. office).
Detailed accessibility information can also be found in the following pdf (download):
