Smoking and Drinking with the Men: Gendered Experiences of Conducting Art Historical Research in Southeast Asia

• In Event: Recovering Female Subjectivities: Writing History and the Politics of Gender in Southeast Asian Art

Abstract

At present, women represent a significant segment of researchers working on contemporary and modern Southeast Asian art. This was reflected most recently in the Power Institute and Getty Foundation’s ‘Ambitious Alignments: New histories in Southeast Asian art’ program, where two-thirds of the participating scholars are women. This paper considers the impact of gender on the fieldwork experiences of women art historians working on Southeast Asian art. Is gender relevant to the production of research by women academics? And how could gendered experiences in the field affect women’s career paths more generally? Drawing upon interviews with two generations of women researchers, this paper will outline the challenges and benefits faced by women art historians in their navigation of Southeast Asian art worlds. From a broader perspective, this paper will also present potential strategies for women researchers working in these contexts and for institutions looking to support their research in the field.

Author

• Clare Veal, University of Sydney