The feminist collective Guerrilla Girls began its activism in May 1985 by wheat-pasting posters in SoHo, New York, that listed prominent male artists and revealed that their galleries showed 10 percent or fewer women artists. The group formed after the 1984 MoMA exhibition 'An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture' included only 13 women out of 169 participants, sparking protests that failed to gain traction. For 40 years, the Guerrilla Girls have used statistics-driven, provocative posters to call out sexism and racism in galleries, museums, and the broader art world. This year, their anniversary is marked by retrospective exhibitions at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, and the National Gallery of Bulgaria in Sofia.
This anniversary matters because the Guerrilla Girls remain one of the most influential activist collectives in contemporary art, demonstrating how direct, data-based protest can challenge institutional power. Their work continues to resonate as gender and racial inequality persist in the art world, making their four-decade legacy a touchstone for ongoing debates about representation, equity, and the role of artists as activists. The simultaneous retrospectives across three continents underscore the enduring relevance of their message and methods.