History of the SGBK
The Swiss Society of Women Artists in the Visual Arts (SGBK) was founded in 1902 out of a protest movement. All attempts made by a woman and a woman artist to be admitted to the Society of Swiss Painters, Sculptors, Architects (GSMBA), founded in 1865, were denied.
Today, the SGBK sees itself more committed to this necessity. Even though some progress has been made in the art world in terms of equality, women artists still do not enjoy the same status as their male colleagues.
To support women and women artists in their concerns, the SGBK organizes art exhibitions. It endeavours to offer them a forum and network, within the framework of regional and national cultural fields. In this way, the SGBK pursues women's issues and is part of the political scene. The women artists also network with each other, and regular meetings of women artists are held in the sections. The SGBK Switzerland also organizes national exhibitions as well as annual open ateliers across Switzerland.
The SGBK is a dynamic society of women artists, where a lot of voluntary work is carried out with great commitment. At the same time, it is increasingly developing into a modern and professional organization.
The most recent case in point of the SGBK is the exhibition "Women in the House of Parliament", a national art project which will take place in 2021 on the occasion of 50 years of women's voting rights in Switzerland. Sixty-seven SGBK women artists from all over Switzerland highlight the legitimate presence of women in the house of Parliament with their designed silhouettes
Text by Ingrid Ehrensperger on 100 Years of SGBK Past and Present.PDF
Archive on the Swiss Women's Movement, Gosteli Foundation, www.gosteli-foundation.ch
The Swiss Institute for Art Research, https://sik-isea.ch