The Belarusian organisation of Women Artists (BOWA) was founded by Irina Solomatina in 2021 in order to represent Belarusian female artists and connect them to the global art scene. Solomatina is a practicing humanitarian, feminist, and the founder of the online gender platform “Gender Route”. Meeting points for the female artists in Belarus with the public are limited and their artistic research has not yet been accepted as a way to influence public opinion. There is a conservative agenda towards women in art practices. BOWA seeks to empower female artists through collaborative projects. In 2019, the artists together published the book She was: 16 Women who became part of the history of Belarus seeking justice and bringing visibility for their predecessors on the national scene. The book represents an example where women collaborate together towards a common goal. Sixteen contemporary female artists use a colorful mixed media language to illustrate the historical moments from the 19th and 20th centuries.
BOWA is offering guided tours to art spaces created by Belarusian female artists that represent a unique way to explore the Belarusian capital – Minsk. Meeting the artists personally, you will have the opportunity to discuss their artistic research and explore a unique atmosphere generally not revealed to the public. The tours are designed to complete the biographical information about Minsk based artists, aiming to facilitate and improve the communication process connected to the development of Belarussian art and the wider global art community. These events provide a unique and comfortable atmosphere for learning about the life stories that influence Belarussian art and that are inseparable from artistic exploration. By opening up their ateliers, the artists invite the public to actively participate in the discussion of socio-political questions that can be raised—and to influence the positive development that organized public discourse can create.
