“My vision is to make Copenhagen alive with art from every corner at once.” Letter, Susan Schwalb to Danish artist Annelise Hansen, October 29, 1979
An estimated 8,000 visitors viewed the exhibitions and events in Copenhagen, the heart of which was held at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen. Organizers initially hoped to raise enough money to send 15 women to the festival, but ambition and interest quickly grew. The festival would eventually include artists from more than 30 countries, with 437 entries from the United States alone. Schwalb worked tirelessly, contacting the State Department in Copenhagen and visiting the city in 1979. There, she met two Danish women, artist Helen Lait Kluge, and art historian Hellen Lassen. The three worked together to lay the seeds that became the first of the three festivals.
Women artists were asked to send an art postcard of their original work or a resume with a few slides. These pieces were then exhibited, with the slideshow under continual rotation to ensure that each piece was displayed. This non-juried approach guaranteed entry for any interested creative.
Original festival poster
The festival in Copenhagen took place over two weeks, from July 14 - 30, 1980, but planning began when Schwalb visited the city in 1979.
Postcard to Schwalb from artist Bette Yozell
Bette Yozell was an artist on the ground in Copenhagen, and her excitement at the suggestion of a festival is palpable.
Letter from Yozell to Schwalb, May 1979
“I feel responsible for the housing of the American women coming. So far, I’ve got places for 10 in various friends of mine’s homes...don’t panic. I’m trying to find nice homes for everyone...I think you may be stuck on Karen’s sofa, I’m afraid – but with housing so tight here, it’s not a bad set-up. I got the word that your people are not into sleeping on floors. Any exceptions to that, that I could know about?"
Letter from artist Monica Sjoo to festival organizers
Monica Sjoo, an artist interested in the intersection of art and magic, notes in this letter that “We’ll need some space to be able to sell our posters...to recover some of the travel expenses,” as they aren’t receiving any funding or grants to attend. The slides, posters, and postcards Sjoo submitted for the festival in Copenhagen had previously shown as part of Gay Pride in London in June 1979 and her letter mentions that her work was originally shown with the “cooperation of the Matriarchy Study groups.”
Letter with doodles, Ellouise Schloetter from the Coalition of Women’s Art Organizations to Schwalb
This poignant letter describes an element of tension between the Coalition of Women’s Art Organizations, a co-sponsor of the festival, and Susan. The sign-off, “You done good kid, and we will all be there to help you pull it off” seems to allude to the inevitable challenges faced when organizing an event of this scope.
Below is a small sample of the archive's collection of art postcards submitted by women around the world. Most were created by women making art, but not necessarily making a living making art, and the exhibition offered the opportunity for them to be part of a major international festival.
Annette Weld was raised on the northwest frontier of India, where her father was a brigadier general. As noted on her website, this work embodies the "early impressions of color and movement of India" that "influenced her vigorous style.”
Elsa Dorfman took this portrait of Bob Dylan on his “Rolling Thunder Revue.” According to her resume, Dorfman worked at the Evergreen Review in 1959, where she arranged early poetry readings for Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure and Philip Whalen. The Antioch Review published 33 of her portraits of poets in 1970, after which she had a series of group and one-woman shows.
Rosalyn Mesquita, artist and educator, calls for the acknowledgement of the first American artists, advocating for an intersectional look at identity and recognition in art and society more broadly.
A native of Nashville who now lives and works in Washington, D.C., Viola Burley Leak studied at Fisk, Pratt, Hunter College and Howard University. Her work mixes print, textiles and painting and includes quilt projects that have been shown internationally.
The festival archive contains a large number of artist resumes and correspondence that reveal as much about the society these women were living in as they do about the work they were doing.
This resume, submitted by an Assistant Professor at University of the District of Columbia, has been redacted as it includes information beyond what is typically found in this type of document. In addition to her professional and academic accomplishments, she has included her date of birth, date of marriage, height, weight and the age of her children. The inclusion of these personal details provides significant insight into the realities of being a working woman at this time, and what was deemed important and/or valuable about her.
Structuring her resume as a poem, Anderson explores the tension between the external and internal - what is demanded and what is desired. She describes the compromises many women have to make in order to fulfill their assumed social roles in addition to pursuing their own ambitions. The final paragraph describes succinctly what the festival was designed to do – to discover other women artists, to teach classes to women, and to make a commitment to oneself and one’s sisters.
From left, Cynthia Navretta, Gloria Orenstein, Audre Lorde and Susan Schwalb
In the background of this photo, we can see a small section of the postcard exhibition. In addition to the work shown at the Glyptotek, art programs took place throughout the city. Films, dance performances, processions and lectures offered attendees myriad opportunities to show, network and learn from each other.
Program cover
Program proposals, April 23, 1980
This program proposal from April 1980 sketches out ideas for panels, performances and readings. This document gives a sense of the general themes of the festival, as well as details, including a performance of Viveca Lindfors's "I am a Woman" and the coordination of a film component by Muriel Magenta and Alida Walsh.
Below is a clip from "They Are Their Own Gifts", a 1978 film by Margaret Murphy and Lucille Walsh that was shown in Copenhagen. This segment features painter Alice Neel, and is one of three artist portraits that makes up the film.
House party invitation
Festival pamphelt
This political pamphlet links the thematic elements of the U.N. conference and demonstrates the necessity of a holistic approach to liberation.
This program for one of the dance performances lists a few of the festival's corporate sponsors. Additional supporters included Clairol, Sears, the Eastman Foundation, Playboy, Xerox, Elizabeth Arden, MAX Factor and Ms. Magazine.