100% Women

From March 2019, Richard Saltoun Gallery is dedicating 100% of its programme to women. This 12-month programme, titled '100% Women' is part of the gallery’s long-standing commitment to supporting under-recognised and under-represented female artists. '100% Women' aims to protest the gender inequality that persists in the art world and encourage wider industry action through debate, dialogue and collaboration.

Today less than 30% of artists represented by major commercial galleries in London are women, with only 5% of galleries representing an equal number of male and female artists. In most aspects of the art world ­– from sales and auction results to solo exhibitions in major institutions – male artists continue to outnumber their female counterparts in the majority of activities that signify the development of an artist’s career. According to the 2018 report by the Freelands Foundation, a charitable organisation founded by Elisabeth Murdoch that tackles critical issues of inequality, the representation of women in the commercial gallery section has reached a new low, indicating that women continue to be excluded from the mainstream commercial art market.

'100% Women' will pursue its mission through a combination of gallery exhibitions, art fair presentations, artist talks, a film and lecture series, external collaborations and digital exhibitions hosted on the gallery's new online platform, launching spring 2019, as well as this online exclusive for Artsy.