Guerrilla Grrrl Now! displays gender, racial, ethnic discrimination throughout history

Since 1985, work by the Guerrilla Girls has played a role in a historical battle against discrimination by demonstrating injustice through art. 

Marissa Vigneault, an associate professor of modern and contemporary art history in the Caine College of the Arts, has been teaching a course called “Feminist theory and practice in the visual arts.” Her class has been participating in an effort to bring light to discrimination issues often overlooked.  

“The Guerrilla Girls started their campaign in 1985,” Vigneault said. “They’re still making work, and are still so active, because there are still huge amounts of inequality, not just in the art world, but I think reflective of a larger environment still needs to be addressed.”  

Vigneault received her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College, one of the Seven Sister colleges.  

“These schools are from a time period when women weren’t allowed to study at Ivy League institutions,” Vigneault said.  

Vigneault said her students, most of whom are in their early twenties, are thinking about the work as something applicable to them. 

“We still need to call attention to these things,” Vigneault said. “They’re thinking about ‘What is relevant to me right now?’” 

Aislinn Baker, one of Vigneault’s students and a junior studying ceramics, said women, disabled people and members of the LGBTQ+ community don’t have enough support at USU. 

“We have lost a lot of resources,” Baker said. 

The Guerrilla Girl movement aims to illuminate a variety of issues, including reproductive rights, the continuing wage gap and sexual violence.  

 “We live in a particular place, in a particular area that tends towards more conservative politics and policies,” Vigneault said. “We’ve been saying for the past few years especially that the state legislature is passing laws that are pushing towards restrictions on expression. Making sure we continue to take up space and to have a voice and to bring attention, because amongst myself and my students, is that we will be censored.” 

Vigneault’s students, including Baker and Eliza Bell, a senior studying art history, said exhibits like this are a crucial way to inspire change. 

“Guerilla Grrrl Now! is called that because it’s like a continuation of feminist history and our activism,” Baker said. “The class added their own ‘Now!’ to the title of the USU exhibit to highlight the currency of the art style and project.” 

“I think it needs it more,” Bell said. “It’s like the label of feminism is like the F-word.”  

The exhibit, located in the Tippetts & Eccles Galleries in the Daryl Chase Fine Arts Center, is set up in two sides. One side focuses on the historical pieces in the Guerrilla Girls archive, including posters, statistics and quotes.  

One display states, “One in three Utah women are sexually assaulted.”  

The other side of the exhibit is student made, including work done by Bell and Baker. 

“Almost every piece is inspired by someone,” Baker said. 

Vigneault encouraged visitors to participate in the exhibit and said there are pens and paper in the gallery for people to write their responses to the work. 

The exhibit is open until Dec. 15.