The All Girl Art Collectives You Need To Know

We all love our girl gang, and ladies in the arts are no different. Over recent years, art women have been joining forces to create their own collectives that will shake up the here-to-fore male-dominated art world. Here’s a list of the female-led collectives you need to know!
 
Guerrilla Girls
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvzRz8vlVJl/
If you haven’t heard of the Guerrilla Girls where have you been hiding all of your life? Comprised of feminist activist artists, over 55 people have been members since being founded in 1985. The collective wears gorilla masks in public, with anonymity keeping focus on the issues they fight – gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture – and away from who they might be. The group has made over 100 street protests, and also conducted projects and exhibitions in museums.
 
Live Wild Collective
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByZ3wfHlfKX/
Live Wild is both the name of and the manifesto for a collective of seven female artists living and working between France, Russia, the US, Georgia and Canada. The group share an Instagram page and exhibit together online. Their collective obsession is the Dada movement, with their work encompassing all media.
 
The Bettys
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwN9Y0olDHA/
The Bettys was founded by Aurora Diaz as a platform and zine for women of colour artists. The mag includes illustration, personal essays and photography, and has included the work of 150 queer, femme and female artists from across the world.
 
Banat Collective
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvQXxZ4n-rB/
Founded by Sara Safwan, Banat Collective is an independent platform for showcasing and discussing intersectionality and womanhood in the Middle East and North Africa. The collective has exhibited at Art Dubai and even produced a book In the Middle Of It All, discussing coming of age as women in the Arab world.
 
Ni Santas
https://www.instagram.com/p/By-vrVrg7y0/
Ni Santas was founded in 2016 as a space for women of colour to use art as a powerful tool for individual and community empowerment. Based in LA, the collective operates online to advocate for social justice. They also hold workshops, teaching a variety of art skills while promoting sisterhood.
 
Balti Gurls
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBY_dylum0/
The Balti Gurls were founded in 2014 as a collective of black and brown female-identified artists. The collective has a focus on new media and inter-disciplinary practice, with a mission to create a community both online and irl.
 
iQhiya
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk2LGlqlrFF/
iQhiya is a network of young black women from South Africa, working in performance, installation, video, photography and other media. The group has emerged in a time where there are contested notions of the roles of gender and tradition within contemporary South Africa. As a millennial generation of women, iQihya choose to define and represent their own narratives.
 
Mujeres de Maiz
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxVlP4lAlXi/
Over two decades old, Mujeres de Maiz (women of corn) is a holistic artivist sisterhood working to promote indigenous and women of colour art. Based in Los Angeles, it offers art education, workshops, exhibitions, a women’s market and a zine.
 
Habibi Collective
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuvkU2qFz35/
Founded by Roisin Tapponi, Habibi Collective is an online platform that shines a spotlight on women in film from in and around the Middle East region.
 
Her Visions
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwEE5SgBi7W/
Her Visions is a multidisciplinary femme focused digital encounters platform, founded by Zaiba Jabbar. Operating online and in real life, Her Visions shines a light on women using tech in their work, shining a spotlight on female artists making use of AR and VR.
 
Words Lizzy Vartanian
Images via @iqhiya, @guerrillagirls, @thelivewildcollective, @thebettyz, @banatcollective, @ni_santas, @balti_gurls, @mujeresdemaiz, @habibicollective, @hervisions_