The Mitchell Gallery, a new art gallery in Eureka’s Old Town, will host its second exhibit of women artists throughout the month of April, with an Arts Alive! opening on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.
“When I decided to open the gallery in March, I made a list of all the local artists whose work I wanted to exhibit and it turned out that most of those on the list were women,” gallery owner Linda Mitchell said. “It wasn’t originally my intention to continue to show only women artists, but the idea has grown on me. The gallery space is small so I can’t possibly show the work of even a fraction of all the amazing artists in Humboldt, so it makes sense to limit the pool of artists I choose from. And women have traditionally been underrepresented in the art world, so I’d like to be a small part of changing that.”
According to a Mitchell Gallery press release, statistics provided by the National Museum for Women Artists in Washington, D.C., female artists continue to struggle for equality in the art world. For example, while nearly half of all artists in the United States are women, they only earn 74 cents for every dollar earned by male artists, and as women age that figure drops to 66 cents. A data analysis of 18 major art museums in the U.S. found their collections are 87% male. Women make up the majority of art museum staff, but hold only 30% of directorship positions. Only 13.7% of living artists represented by galleries in Europe and North America are women. Women continue to receive fewer art prizes than men, and their work sells for far less at auction than their male counterparts.
“Nearly two decades ago local artist Ingrid Nickelsen, who died while plein air painting in the Siskiyou Mountains, left money in her will to establish a trust that would award grants to local women artists. The Ingrid Nickelsen Trust has given away over $300.000 in grants, and I’ve seen first-hand what that support has done for so many women, enabling them to continue producing work and further their careers. I hope my gallery can be another source of empowerment for local women,” Mitchell said.
The artists included in the Mitchell Gallery’s April exhibit are Regina Case, Micki Flatmo, Susanna Gallisdorfer, Joan Gold, Georgia Long, Dana Mitchell, Natalie Mitchell, Ingrid Nickelsen, Terry Oats, Kathy O’Leary, Rachel Schlueter and Claire Iris Schencke.
The Mitchell Gallery is located at 425 Snug Alley, behind the gazebo in Old Town Eureka. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call Linda Mitchell 707-497-9086 or send her an email at lindamitchellgallery@gmail.com.
