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International Women’s Day 2022: A Look at Women’s Artistry in Ukraine and a Brief Look Back at Women in IP this Past Year

Posted on 8 March 2022
Painting

“Khvylya” by Olha Pilyuhina (Wikicommons)

Every year, March 8 is recognized as International Women’s Day. York University President & Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton and Vice President, Equity, People & Culture Sheila Cote-Meek beautifully addressed this year’s theme of #BreakTheBias in their official statement earlier this week. This year, before we look back at some of our noteworthy pieces highlighting the accomplishments and continued struggles of women artists and innovators, and in light of the ongoing atrocities in Ukraine, we wish to briefly acknowledge the historic struggles of Ukrainian women artists.

In Ukraine, as in many other places, women artists have been historically underrecognized in comparison to their male counterparts. This lack of recognition stems from many sources: women encouraged to focus on marrying rich instead of studying art, gender prejudices in early art schools, and women’s contributions overlooked when collaborating with male counterparts, to name a few. Today’s landscape has evolved a fair bit, as many previously ignored talents are moving into the light. For more information about this history, read Why there are Great Women Artists in Ukrainian Art. 

Some great artists whose work you can browse online are Eugenia Gapchinska, Oksana Mas, Alena Kuznetsova, and Olha Pilyuhina, whose painting is featured above.

Further IPilogue Reading for International Women’s Day

Since last March, the IPilogue featured plenty of articles showcasing achievements by prominent women, noteworthy IP lawsuits involving women and barriers that women artists and entrepreneurs continue to face. Browse our selection below: