FEMINISM, WHAT ELSE?
“Feminism, what else?” An exhibition of art created by women, spanning generations and cultures. On view are works by icons of the feminist avant-garde such as Renate Bertlmann, Florentina Pakosta, Stella Bach and Margot Pilz, as well as by young female artists who reflect on identity and relationships through their own aesthetics and convey a sense of strength, self-confidence, and beauty. Works are on display by: Donya Aalipour, Ina Ebenberger, Beáta Hechtova, Bianca Ion, Käthe Schönle, Linda Steiner, Tanja Prušnik and Julia Woronowicz. Also featured are Louise Deininger, Starsky, and Africa’s rising star Zandile Tshabalala.
Feminism, what else? It is simply not just a women’s issue. Anyone who stands up for human dignity and human rights is part of it. “Feminism is a movement that seeks to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” With this simple sentence, the Black American feminist Bell Hooks summed up what it’s all about.
This is about oppression. About the structures that perpetuate oppression. Violence against women—both physical and digital—is an everyday reality. And it is on the rise. This alarming trend goes hand in hand with the growing strength of autocratic movements and regimes. These are driven by men who—focused on their own interests and dominance—are increasingly undermining democracy, human rights, and human dignity. They are driven by a desire for personal power. In this way, they consolidate and expand patriarchal structures, pursuing their ambitions egocentrically and without any empathy. They view every act of compassion and solidarity as an attack on themselves and on freedom itself.
We must denounce claims of ownership over women and their bodies, as well as the repeated, repulsive violence and subjugation. But the resistance must continue, against the structures of domination and disenfranchisement. Feminism is part of the resistance—just as the fight against racism and neocolonialism, Musk-capitalism and Trumpism, and all movements against every form of oppression. What else?
Michael Schmitz
About the curator
Dr. phil. Sabine Fellner studied art history and history in Vienna and Paris. As a freelance exhibition curator, she focuses on current sociopolitical themes, for example in “Der nackte Mann” (2012) and “Rabenmütter” (2015) at the Lentos Art Museum in Linz (nominated for the art Curator’s Prize 2016), “The Better Half: Jewish Women Artists until 1938,” 2016, at the Jewish Museum Vienna (Hans and Lea Grundig Prize 2017), “The Power of Age,” 2018, and “City of Women,” 2019 at the Belvedere in Vienna (nominated for the 2019 art Curator’s Prize), “Women Now,” 2018, at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York; 2021 “Wild Childhood” at the Lentos Art Museum in Linz. “Women Artists in Linz 1851–1950,” 2022 at the Stadtmuseum Nordico in Linz. “Louise Bourgeois – Unwavering Resistance,” 2023 at the Belvedere in Vienna, and “Touch Nature” at the Lentos Art Museum in Linz in 2025. “Vienna Modernism. Feminine Resistance“ in 2026 at the Landesgalerie NÖ. Exhibition series ”Why We Should All Be Feminists,” to be shown in 2026 and 2027 at 12 Austrian cultural forums worldwide.
