Gallery Visit
External Classroom Learning at Woman Made Gallery
Location: 2150 S Canalport Ave #4A-3, Chicago, IL 60608
Kelly Hensen and Beate Minkovski are the founders of what stands today as Woman Made Gallery located in Pilsen, Illinois. The two met in college. Minkovski was 20 years Hensen’s elder, yet both found common ground in their content: feminism. While preparing for their senior show in 1992, they faced challenges finding a location to display their work because of their content. They eventually found an old house to display their work for their senior show and Minkoviski wanted to explore every ounce of its potential moving forward.
Through the years, Woman Made Gallery has existed in many locations, and now resides in a warehouse in Pilsen, Illinois. With the assistance from volunteers, Woman Made Gallery has been able to excel, regardless of any obstacles they have faced. The gallery now functions as a non-for-profit with the support of various fundraisers, enthused members, grants, sponsorships, and generous donations. The gallery broadcasts their significance through monthly newsletters to their members, various fundraisers, social media and workshops conducted by many diverse artists.
“Woman Made Gallery’s vision is to ensure the equal placement of women’s art in the world” (Woman Made Gallery, Our Vision). Through the works of female-identified artists students will be invited to join discussions about feminism in the modern world. The warehouse in which the gallery is located encourages the discussion of art within a community through the use of external and internal murals. Visitors experience the surreal environment as they walk through the building which ignites imaginative and creative thinking. The combination of the gallery’s history, advertisement, fundraising, and the environment in which the gallery is currently located fosters the growth of women artists’ value in a local and global context and encourages the need for intergenerational collaboration.
FOUNDERS
Kelly Hensen, who was in her mid-twenties, and Beate Minkovski, who was 44 years old, were both searching for a location to put on their senior show at the college they attended and faced difficulties finding a location. They sought out the library, like many attendees at their college, and faced backlash because the content of their show was too controversial to be displayed. After facing difficulties at the library, they found an old house that allowed them to reinvent the space for their work to be displayed.
MAKING OF A GALLERY
After their senior show, Minkovski asked "Where can this go?". She continued to pursue keeping the gallery space alive independently. Since then, the gallery has had various locations. It resided on Milwaulkee Ave for some time, yet faced difficulties with accessibility because of the increased city traffic and construction. Currently, Woman Made Gallery exists on Canalport Ave where there is less city traffic. Although the new location is located on the third floor of a warehouse building, there in an elevator for those who need it; therefore making the gallery accessible to all. This galley is very welcoming to student visits, given that it was founded on driven artists and wishes to reflect those qualities on other artists.
IMAGES OF THE WAREHOUSE BUILDING IN WHICH WOMAN MADE GALLERY RESIDES
ADVERTISING
In order to share the wonderful values rooted in Woman Made Galleries foundation, Deg Flagel practices various methods for effective advertising. She sends out a monthly newsletter, hosts large fundraising events in the spring and fall to increase publicity, posts actively on social media and organizes workshops in the gallery. Most recently, Woman Made Gallery has welcomed Shannon Downey to the gallery where she has been able to work with others as she continues to work on her world project where she is sewing together artists embroidered statements into one large art piece.
womanmadegallery
Woman Made Gallery
FUNDRAISING
Fundraising
Donations and Honorable Shows
Membership
$25-$100
Sponsorship
Grants
130k-200k
MOVING FORWARD
In the future, Deb Flagel plans to compose a memorial in a unique form to show others the historical development of Woman Made Gallery. This was inspired by her search through archives where she found old postcards and other documents that embody the journey Woman Made Gallery has been through.