Equality in Performing Arts

News channel Ekot, Swedish Radio, presented new facts of sexual harassment in the theatre-world last week. The radio sent 1600 questions to people within performing Arts in Sweden about their working situation. Among actresses, 45,5% – half of all women asked – answered that they had been exposed to sexual harassment; of the male actors 10,8%. Horrifying figures (look at the statistics here). The debate is running warm. But it’s not that it is a new issue.

Already in 2006, a State Committee was looking into the gender and equality situation within performing Arts in Sweden. They presented a report, Plats på Scen (SOU 2006:42), showing serious deficiencies in equality at the performing Arts institutions, urging for more intensified equality regulations at all decision making levels, from state authorities to every institution.You wonder what happened? Did the institutions follow the regulations? Or is it the connection with reality that is missing, regulations always risking to only become a paper product if not taken seriously?

The two New York-based Artists Sharon Hayes and Andrea Geyer question gender and equality in an exhibition now showing at Konsthallen in Göteborg. Like when Andrea Geyer is doing her one-person demonstrations, in one of them carrying a sign with ”I am a man” written. The meanings in the signs are referring to situations in the past, where this quote was picked from an afro-American demonstration in the 60s, where ”man” referred only to ”human”. In it’s simplicity, an effective way to question who has power in society. There is a lot still to be done when it comes to the complex equality question.

Download Plats på Scen here: 4e61f43d.pdf .