I’ve to confess that I’ve a quite problematic feeling towards the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union due to the current politics in Austria … but I have to mention that there is a whole body of events in the cultural field organised in Brussels within the framework of the presidency. … With the cooperation of the Austrian Cultural Forum Brussels and the Austrian collector Hannah Rieger with the Art et Marges Musée Brussels they came up with a really good project.
Under the title Les femmes dans l’art brut? they brought together over hundred works by international art brut artist from the collection of Hannah Rieger. Female art brut has ever since rarely been supported and much less collected. The ? in the exhibition title refers to that point that it is hardly possible to see and collect female art brut, also in the renown Maria Gugging female art brut is an exception - as for instance the work of Leila Bachtiar, who attended the opening last thursday. About 22 female and 19 male artists were represented in the show, among the works were many of actually high quality - above all the smaller sized drawings.
Besides some people affiliated to Austria many local people joined the opening, what I really appreciated. I even met some of my neighbours :)
Still, I am asking myself - is it really necessary to put a ? into the title and hanging all these great works by (less known) female artists next to the well known big names of art brut instead of putting an ! and highlighting this hardly existing female part of the brut story?