The exhibition «Women’s Portrait Atelier» was held in Space No. 10 from June 5 to June 13, 2026.
Curator: Alexandra Kuznetsova
Organizer: murmure, a media and gallery for women in art.
The project is built around the underrepresented genre of group female portraiture in art. By working in this genre, I represent women’s self-organizing communities as a phenomenon of contemporary society. Separating themselves from a system that currently lacks protective laws but is rife with misogyny and sexism, women create their own safe space for support, protection, and development.
The project’s accompanying video serves as a kind of manifesto, created in dialogue with past artists and researchers. It is compiled from texts spanning the 17th century to the present day, in which women reject subjugated roles and seek their own voice and place—including within the field of art. As a result, the video takes the form of a performative polyglossia, where our contemporary women rephrase the formulas proposed by their predecessors in a dialogue, bringing these still-relevant contexts to life.
The painting series forms the core of the project—five group portraits of women from various communities of mutual support, aid, and shared practices. This speaks to the search for a sense of belonging and the creation of new spaces and zones for the needs of contemporary women—their interests, their self-expression, and their mutual support—a place where they can speak and act freely.
K-Pop Cover Dance Group «Docx» 165×110 cm Canvas, oil, acrylic
Historically, group female portraiture, as part of a genre, was nearly absent for a long time, and even when it appeared, it was more of an exception. Later, in the twentieth century, it began to manifest more as an ideological form, designating women’s place in the social structure of society as workers, laborers, athletes, and mothers. Thus, the exhibition «Women’s Portrait Studio» attempts to begin filling a historically established lacuna, drawing upon the contemporary position of women in society. Its goal is to give voice and visibility to female communities, defining their place and significance in modernity.
«River» Space 70×110 cm Canvas, oil
Each portrait is enhanced with sound and text. The audio presents a vibrant dialogue among the community members. The text offers a more formal account of the community—its period, the goals of its creation, its challenges, and its context within society.
«Girls Make Noise» Party 265×95 cm Canvas, oil
«You Are Not Alone» Mutual Aid Network 75×120 cm Canvas, oil, acrylic
Irida Artists Union 70×170 cm Canvas, oil
Vernissage
The project involved
Curator: Aleksandra Kuznetsova Organization: Murmure Media and Gallery for Women
Venue: Dmitry Gaikov, Space #10
Support: Untitled Foundation
Women’s Communities: Irida, TyNeOdna, K-pop caver dance Docx, Girls Make Noise, Reska Space
Operator: Sasha Salman Video Editing: Sasha Salman
Sound: Daria Falko
Video Subjects: Zhanna Chumpilova, Diana, Viya, Daria Shcherbakova, Artist Liza, Masha Pichikova
Design and Layout: Eva Khisina
Photography: Denis Lapshin
Acknowledgements
Ekaterina Kartseva Dmitry Gaikov Maxim Kosatkin Ulyana Moiseeva Polina Frolova Sasha Orlova Daria Lapshinova