This Artist-Activist Is Asking Women Artists to Raise Their Prices by 15 Percent to Fight the Art World’s Gender Pay Gap

Visitors to Frieze Los Angeles should be on the lookout for
feminist artist and activist Michele Pred. She’ll be the one
wearing a dress made out of dollar bills, each painted pink and
stamped with the words “Equal Pay.” She’s wearing the eye-catching
garment to promote her latest project, The Art of Equal Pay, in which
she’s asking female-identifying artists to permanently raise their
prices 15 percent, to help fight the persistent pay gap in the
visual arts.

Pred announced the initiative last night, at the Standard,
Hollywood, during a party kicking off the 40th anniversary
celebrations for the women’s leadership nonprofit ArtTable. The price increase
is set to go into effect March 31, which is Equal Pay Day—the date symbolizing how far
into the new year a woman must work to match the earnings the
average man made over the previous year.

“We all think about equal pay as women and know about the gender
pay gap. It’s been a theme of mine for a long time,” said Pred, who has staged feminist art parades at
events like Art Basel Miami Beach and UNTITLED San Francisco, and
in New York ahead of the
midterm elections. “A lot of my work is about igniting
conversation, but I wanted to do something more concrete.”

Pred is working with a data specialist to crunch the numbers on
the primary market and identify the current price differential
between male and female artists. The preliminary results place the
figure at between 14 and 19 percent, so Pred decided to set her
price increase at 15 percent.

To date, 15 artists have signed on to join Pred in raising their
prices, including Bud Snow, Michelle Hartney, Amy Khoshbin, and
Yvette Molina. The artist’s website also lists the galleries, art
collectors, and other art professionals who are supporting the
measure. Collectors including Jean Chadborne, Sonia Marie, and
Diane DiMenna have already pledged to buy works at their increased
prices.

With the Equal Pay Dress and a matching, light-up
handbag as an ice breaker, Pred will be using Frieze LA as a
platform to spread the word about the initiative, speaking to
artists, dealers, and collectors at the fair in the hopes of
encouraging them to take part.

“We can’t raise our prices unless we have the collectors buying
at higher prices,” Pred added. “I want to create real change.”

The post This Artist-Activist Is Asking Women Artists to
Raise Their Prices by 15 Percent to Fight the Art World’s Gender
Pay Gap appeared first on artnet News.