VALIE EXPORT, the Austrian pioneer of feminist performance art, died on 14 May, three days before her 86th birthday. Her death was confirmed by her representative, Thaddaeus Ropac. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she developed a radical artistic language centered on the female body, known for works such as *Tap and Touch Cinema* (1968–1971) and *Body Configurations* (1972–1976). Tributes have poured in from artists, writers, and institutions, including the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, where director Stella Rollig noted their ongoing collaboration on the exhibition *Feminist Futures Forever*.
EXPORT’s death marks the loss of a transformative figure who used performance, film, and photography to challenge the male gaze and patriarchal structures. Her work remains highly relevant to contemporary feminist discourse, as she herself noted in a 2019 interview that the #MeToo movement had only achieved 10% of feminism’s mission. Her legacy continues to influence a new generation of artists and activists, and her inclusion in major museum collections and exhibitions ensures her critical voice endures.