Abstract

In Greece, along with the reinstatement of political freedoms, legal reforms addressing gender equality were introduced after the restoration of democracy in the mid 1970s. During this time, the visibility of women photographers, whether amateur or professionals, remained fairly limited through to the late 1980s. The high cost of photographic equipment, limited access to relevant courses and job opportunities, and disproportionate responsibilities in family and household care for some would hinder many women from engaging with photography. For the affluent dedicated amateur, clubs and societies were becoming quite technophilic and/or too focused on the male gaze. Similarly, women professionals had to navigate a competitive and hostile male-dominated field. Although some women worked as photojournalists in newspapers and magazines during this period, the rarity of individual copyright credits for photographs and the absence of
institutional interest in recording and preserving their work meant that most of these contributions are now difficult to trace. For many, only fragments of their archives now survive, if they have not been entirely lost or destroyed.

The nexus of photographic institutions that developed since the late 1970s, most of which were initiated and managed by male photographers, did not do full justice to the diversity of women’s photographies either. They favoured a particular type of independent creative photography, unsurprisingly championed by male counterparts. The establishment of academic programmes for photography in state and private educational institutions from the mid-1980s onwards became a catalyst in the professionalisation of women's photographic practice, while access
to curatorial studies at home and abroad led to the emergence of a new generation of women curators. The development of digital media and photo-sharing platforms in the new millennium also played a determining role in enhancing the visibility and dissemination of women’s work.

This paper will provide a brief account of the institutionalisation of women’s photographies in the Greek paradigm, examining historic systemic prejudice and the institutional barriers women faced. It will illustrate how the lack of visibility and documentation of women’s practice affected the remembrance of these herstories in official histories, survey exhibitions, and institutional and private collections. The paper argues that women’s creative practice in the 1990s—especially hybrid and experimental practices—went purposefully against the canon of creative photography formulated by male photographers, curators and critics. It is claimed that these efforts to rearticulate the medium can be seen as a
gendered act of creative and ideological dissent. The presentation concludes with references to contemporary collaborative initiatives by Greek women curators working to correct these historic injustices, celebrate women’s photographies on museum walls and collections, and rewrite inclusive and just herstories.