Contemporary Art, 1960s–present

Art, Culture, and Politics

What was Womanhouse?

Womanhouse was a 1971 art installation, performance piece, feminist collaboration, and actual house—located at 553 Mariposa Avenue in Hollywood, California. The project was run by the Feminist Art Program at the California Institute of Arts. A group of twenty-six women repaired the home before a planned demolition, using their carpentry skills to transform it into a space for women-made art, and a work of art in and of itself. Womanhouse contained eighteen installations within its rooms, including Nurturant Kitchen. Performances such as Waiting questioned the role of women as keepers of the house. The house opened to the public in 1972 and attracted nearly ten thousand visitors. When the exhibitions were complete, most of the art created there was destroyed, including the home.



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