Amanda Kelly

WHAT IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD? at ΕΜΣΤ

Initiated by EMST artistic director Katerina Gregos and inspired by Yael Bartana's 2017 neon work of the same name – which is on display on the North and South façades of the EMST building – this cycle of exhibitions is based on an often-repeated hypothetical question: What would happen if governance was characterised by female traits? What if Women Ruled the World? posits an oft-repeated hypothetical question: would the world be a better place if women led governance and were key decision makers? Would there be less violence? Would we observe more justice in leadership? Would this mean the end of wars, armed conflicts and stalemates? Would there be more human rights? Would economic policy be more equitable and with greater concern for the environment and minorities? Would we see more considered discussion and compromise? And, ultimately, would there be more care and empathy? Or, would there be the same obsession with profit and unchecked growth, regardless of the human and environmental costs, and the same selfish anthropocentrism that has led us to our current impasses? These questions are posed not because we argue in favour of the establishment of a matriarchy, but because the programme aims to invite reflection on whether there is an alternative to the dominant patriarchal paradigm that is seemingly leading the world to climate meltdown, environmental degradation and war-induced destruction. At the same time, the exhibition series is also a reconsideration of art history, especially in a country like Greece, which for years has marginalised or rendered invisible so many women artists.

Part I opened in December 2023 with WOMEN, together, as well as three solo exhibitions of work by Leda Papaconstantinou (Time in my hands. A Retrospective); Chryssa Romanos (The Search for Happiness for as Many as Possible); and Danai Anesiadou: (D.POSSESSIONS); and performances by Alexis Blake.

Part II opened on International Women’s Day in March 2024 featuring exhibitions of work by Yael Bartana, Claudia Comte, Hadassah Emmerich, Lola Flash, and Malvina Panagiotidi, with performances by Claudia Comte and Jeanna Criscitiello.

Part III opened in May 2024 with a major retrospective of work by Penny Siopis and a video installation by Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley.

Part IV opened in June 2024 with exhibitions by Bertille Bak, Bouchra Khalili, Tala Madani and Susan Meiselas, as well as presentations of work by Phyllida Barlow, Eleni Pitari-Pangalou, and a new site-specific installation by Eva Stefani, commissioned by the museum.