Mujeres x Mujeres.
Mujeres x Mujeres (Women x Women) is the name of an artistic exhibition that has been displayed online due to COVID 19. A limited edition of 10 illustrations, it features portraits of women made by women. We commissioned it to recognize the artists’ talent and female roles beyond traditional stereotypes. More info here about the artists and their artworks.
And it is also a manifesto which encourages us to reflect on our own industry.
Men and women share ambition and dreams, but not opportunities. We don’t need statistics to verify a reality: most companies are run by men, and men are the majority of the most acclaimed architects and designers.
Why?
I don’t think the barriers are in the formal education received and, of course, not in the talent and skills. The industrial ecosystem and its “glass ceiling” have something to do with it, but above all it is the unequal access for men and women. How many “male achievers” really reconcile their work and family life?
It also has something to do with where we come from: in the midst of the modern revolution, our idolized Bauhaus confined women to minor tasks. Some places were strictly men only. Geniuses like Le Corbusier hid the talent of Charlotte Perrinaud, undoubtedly a pioneer bridging the gap between architecture and interior design.
Until when will this last?
There is still a long way to go, but our will is relentless.
Men, we’re the other half and we’re here to stay. If it is not too much to ask, encourage your professional colleagues to keep working, and personally, think of your coworkers and daughters. We not only love you, we also need and effective equality. It is a shared challenge, only achievable for a society as a whole.
Women, get to work!
In the words of Gloria Steinem “The best way for us to cultivate fearlessness in our daughters and other young women is by example. If they see their mothers and other women in their lives going forward despite fear, they’ll know it’s possible.”
Finally, we want to pay tribute to all our female contributors and make visible the women’s faces behind many of our creations.
Esther Castaño-López.
See and acquire the Mujeres x Mujeres prints here.
