Rethinking Art's Histories- Taking Place

This book presents examination of queer and feminist alternative art spaces in Canada and the United States from the late-1960s to the present. It explores how queer and feminist artists have responded to the institutions and histories they have inherited. Taking place is a ground-breaking examination of feminist and queer alternative art spaces in Canada and the United States. Affirming the historical significance of these spaces, the book explores the ways present-day artists both support and challenge the narrative lenses through which their histories have been constructed.Beginning with an exploration of the foundational histories of feminist art, the book follows the divergent paths that queer and feminist institutions have taken in subsequent decades. It considers the precarious position of feminist and queer art histories relative to more mainstream equivalents, while using regional case studies to interrogate different understandings of “alternative” space and the possibilities the term affords for queer and feminist artistic imaginaries. It also examines how artists engage and respond to the histories, spaces, and institutions they have inherited. Bringing together interdisciplinary methods, including queer theory, feminist theory, historiography, social geography, and institutional critique, Taking place provides a new entry point for queer and feminist art histories. Taking place examines feminist and queer alternative art spaces across Canada and the United States from the late-1960s to the present. It looks at how queer and feminist artists working in the present day engage with, respond to and challenge the institutions they have inherited. Through a series of regional case studies, the book interrogates different understandings of ‘alternative’ space and the possibilities the term affords for queer and feminist artistic imaginaries.

Pages: 200, Paperback, Manchester University Press