Judy Chicago-isms

A collection of inspiring and provocative quotations from pioneering artist, feminist, and activist Judy Chicago

A fierce activist for women’s rights and against climate change, Judy Chicago defines herself best: “I’m Judy Chicago, and I’m an artist and a troublemaker.” A leader of the Women’s Art Movement of the 1970s, Chicago also founded the first feminist art program in the United States. She is renowned for her monumental installation The Dinner Party (1974–1979), an iconic work that celebrates female luminaries from history and mythology, including Georgia O’Keefe, Emily Dickinson, Sojourner Truth, and Hatshepsut. Gathered from interviews and other sources, Judy Chicago-isms is an inspiring collection of the memorable and powerful words of a trailblazing artist.

• “You don’t have to be a man to support a patriarchal worldview, and you don’t have to be a woman to support feminist values.”
• “You have to choose hope. Hope comes from feeling that you’re on the side of right and fighting for it. If you’re a passive observer to what’s going on, it’s easy to give in to despair.”
• “Feminist art is all the stages of a woman giving birth to herself.”
• “[Women] should get fifty percent of the space in all institutions. That is what our mandate has to be.”