Join the Museum of Fine Arts as we explore artwork by women artists in the Museum’s collection. Wild Creations is designed to showcase the powerful contributions of women artists throughout history while offering participants an opportunity to examine structural forces that have led to inequality in the art world. 

The program takes its name from activist, feminist, and playwright Eve Ensler. Below, in this excerpt from an essay published in The New York Times, Ensler outlines clear distinctions between power and passion as driving forces behind liberation for women, people of color, and others systematically denied access to power and influence.

Passion is persuasive. Power is dominating. Passion is contagious and inspirational. Power is threatening and coercive.
Passion moves people. Power controls them.

I think in these perilous times, a third way is emerging, a kind of escalated passion — creative energy that comes from giving one’s heart and soul and imagination to the struggle. Not aggression but fierceness. Not hurting but confronting. Not violating but disrupting. This passion has all the ingredients of activism but is charged with the wild creations of art.

It is in this context that we present Wild Creations Digital Access — a program that helps participants develop their own toolkits for change; explore works by each featured artist, and examine art movements and our artists’ work through a comprehensive list of suggested readings, podcasts, and films. Each Wild Creations Workshop is designed to be completed in 30-40 minutes. Click here to submit quiz answers to be eligible for prizes, check back weekly as more Workshops are available, and look for a special Wild Creations tour once our museum reopens! 

Image credits:

• Guerrilla Girls, (American, founded 1985), Do Women Have to be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum?, 1989/90, Color offset lithograph on white wove paper, ed. of 50, Museum purchase with funds donated by Martha and Jim Sweeny
• Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (French, 1755–1842), Julie As Flora, Roman Goddess Of Flowers (detail), 1799, Oil on Canvas, Museum Purchase
• Mary L. Proctor (American, b. 1960), Dancing on the Street Pave[d] in Gold (detail), 1996, Mixed media with found objects on wooden door, Gift of Donna and Thomas Brumfield, Jr.
• Anonymous, Japan, Genroku period (1688–1704), Scenes From the Tale of Genji (detail), Six-fold screen, ink, color and gold on paper, Museum purchase with funds donated by John E. Schloder in memory of his father, Charles Schloder
• Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887–1986), Poppy (detail), 1927, Oil on canvas, Gift of Charles C. and Margaret Stevenson Henderson in memory of Jeanne Crawford Henderson
• Marguerite Zorach (American, 1887-1968), Wash Day, New York City (detail), c. 1925, Oil on canvas, Museum purchase with funds donated by the Collector Circle