‘Wide Awoke’- Are Female Artists Worth Collecting? with Joyce Harkin from Scotland, UK
‘Wide Awoke’- Are Female Artists Worth Collecting? with Joyce Harkin from Scotland, UK
This time in our latest ‘Wide Awoke’ article, with Joyce Harkin, we speak behind the video, have a listen…
This engaging introduction to the ‘Women’ section of TheAppWhisperer highlights the diverse voices and perspectives within the mobile art community. The first instalment of ‘Talking Points’ features the remarkable mobile artist M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, who creatively explores her identity through the thought-provoking question, “What if I wasn’t me?” This concept challenges traditional notions of gender by envisioning her artistic expression from a male perspective.
Catherine Caddigan adds depth with her insightful piece, “What do we reveal to the camera?” Her contribution encourages reflection on self-presentation and authenticity in art.
Additionally, Susan Detroy’s compelling video offers a unique viewpoint on the women’s movement, intertwining her self-portraiture work with her artistic ethos. The section continues to flourish with contributions from talented artists such as Armineh Hovanesian, Deborah McMillion, Lynette Sheppard, Rita Colantonio, and Fleur Schim, showcasing a variety of experiences and narratives that enrich the conversation surrounding women’s roles in the art world.
In our ‘Wide Awoke’ section, we initially tackled a thought-provoking discussion at the Tate Museum in London. Recently, an article by Helen Gorrill in The Guardian highlighted concerns that female artists may be facing greater challenges now than they did in the 1990s. Gorrill stated, “Today, when men’s artwork is signed, it goes up in value; conversely, when work by women is signed, it goes down in value. The addition of a woman’s signature can devalue artwork to the extent that female artists are more likely to leave their work unsigned.” She further criticises the Tate for seemingly only collecting a ‘token’ proportion of work by women, despite them constituting 74% of fine art graduates.
This article sparked significant discussion here at TheAppWhisperer HQ, as addressing these issues is at the heart of our new Women section. To delve deeper, we reached out to several female mobile artists and posed the question, “Are Female Artists Worth Collecting?” We invited them to create short videos responding to our subheading, ‘Wide Awoke’. Today, we are thrilled to publish the sixth video in this series, featuring the talented female artist Joyce Harkin from Scotland.
We hope you find this new section engaging, and we encourage everyone to leave comments below. While it focuses on women’s issues, we warmly invite all individuals, regardless of gender, to view and participate in the conversation.
Text of Voice over
Are female artists worth collecting?
If we turned this question around and asked “Are male artists worth collecting?” The response would be bemusement or outrage. Why is the question of gender even being asked in this day and age?
Historically there were few women artists because of the cultural norms and limitations placed upon them. Even in the recent past, it was conceded that women just might be creative in the more decorative arts like textiles or pottery but not in ‘fine art’. Remember the 60s? Equality, feminism, the glass ceiling? Why have we not moved on? It is infuriating!
Female artists and their massive contribution to the art world is not what’s in question here. Womens’ art has always reflected issues of identity, place in the world and how we are perceived and portrayed with integrity and honesty, in challenging, gutsy, humorous and beautiful ways. But who gets to decide what it’s worth? Who is collecting art and why?
It seems that most men buy art as an investment rather than for aesthetic or emotional reasons. Is this piece of art going to be a good investment? Not do I love it and want to look at it every day? Will this ever change? I don’t know but if we take the music industry as an example, it has already been transformed by direct downloading and the internet, perhaps the art world will likewise be turned on it’s head? Galleries will no longer be the way to promote and sell art. I feel optimistic that we are moving towards a situation where technology will provide a platform for artists of whatever gender to thrive on their merits and talents alone.
Please support us
TheAppWhisperer has always had a dual mission: to promote the most talented mobile artists of the day and to support ambitious, interested viewers worldwide. As the years pass, TheAppWhisperer has gained readers and viewers and has found new venues for that exchange.
All this work thrives with the support of our community. Your support helps protect our independence, and we can keep delivering open, global promotion of mobile artists. Every contribution, however big or small, is valuable for our future.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
