The liability of gender? Constraints and enablers of foreign market entry for female artists

Abstract

Cultural industries help build creativity-based economies and stimulate worldwide cultural interchanges, but this process faces constraints. One such constraint is unequal treatment of genders. When female artists export cultural products, they face a “liability of gender”, defined as gender specific difficulties in overcoming the liability of foreignness. Both audiences’ gendered expectations and artists’ lack of information about foreign markets will lower women artists’ probability of successfully exporting cultural products, relative to their male counterparts. Differences in education and social network connections strengthen this effect. To investigate this relation and discover how it can be counteracted, we study Korean artists from 2000 to 2015. We document that female artists have more difficulty exhibiting in foreign galleries than males, yet these negative effects can be mitigated by elite education and by participation in art residency programs. Residency programs help female artists to develop networks from their interactions with female peers, but these benefits erode quickly relative to the benefits of education. These findings help us understand how to create a level playing field across genders in worldwide cultural exchanges and suggest that network building institutions such as the art residency programs can effectively reduce gender inequality.

Plain Language Summary

This study examines the difficulties cultural creators, like artists, encounter when attempting to export their work internationally. In particular, we focus on female artists' “double liability”—both as foreigners and as women—when trying to penetrate foreign markets.

The research was carried out on fine art professionals in South Korea, a market predominantly controlled by male artists. We collected data on artists who gained recognition between 2000 and 2015, with international exports gauged as the artists' solo exhibitions in foreign countries. The study discovered that female artists were less likely to exhibit abroad than their male counterparts. However, they could surmount this gender liability by leveraging social networks established in art residency programs (programs that provide artists with a dedicated space and time to work) and by benefiting from mentors in art schools.

The study also revealed that the advantages of art residency programs for female artists faded faster than those of their elite education. This implies that the professional network developed during the residency program had a potent but brief influence on their capacity to exhibit abroad.

Our findings also propose that policy interventions, such as backing residency programs and promoting mentorship in elite educational institutions, could aid in diminishing gender inequality in the cultural industries.

This text was initially drafted using artificial intelligence, then reviewed by the author(s) to ensure accuracy.

Résumé

Les industries culturelles contribuent à bâtir des économies fondées sur la créativité et à stimuler les échanges culturels à l’échelle mondiale, mais ce processus se heurte à des contraintes. L’une de ces contraintes réside dans le traitement inégal entre les sexes. Lorsque des artistes féminines exportent des produits culturels, elles sont confrontées à des handicaps liés au genre (Liability of Gender), définis comme des difficultés spécifiques au genre pour surmonter les handicaps et coûts liés au statut étranger de l’individu ou de l’organisation (Liability of Foreignness). Les attentes sexospécifiques du public et le manque d’informations des artistes sur les marchés étrangers réduiront la probabilité des femmes artistes de réussir l’exportation de leurs produits culturels par rapport à leurs homologues masculins. Les différences en matière d’éducation et de connexions aux réseaux sociaux renforcent cet impact. Afin d’examiner cette relation et de découvrir comment elle peut être contrebalancée, nous étudions les artistes coréens durant la période 2000 - 2015. Nous démontrons que les artistes féminines ont plus de difficultés à exposer dans des galeries étrangères que les hommes, mais ces impacts négatifs peuvent être atténués par l'éducation d'élite et par la participation à des programmes de résidence artistique. Ces derniers aident les femmes artistes à développer des réseaux à partir de leurs interactions avec leurs pairs féminines, mais ces bénéfices s'érodent rapidement par rapport à ceux liés à l'éducation. Ces résultats nous aident à comprendre comment créer des règles du jeu équitables entre les sexes dans les échanges culturels mondiaux, et suggèrent que les institutions de création de réseaux telles que les programmes de résidence artistique peuvent réduire efficacement les inégalités entre les sexes.

Resumen

Las industrias culturales ayudan a construir economías basadas en la creatividad y estimulan los intercambios culturales a lo largo del mundo, pero este proceso enfrenta restricciones. Una de estas restricciones el trato desigual de los géneros. Cuando las artistas mujeres exportan productos culturales enfrentan “desventajas de género”, definido como las dificultades especificas asociadas al género para superar las desventajas de extranjería. Tanto las expectativas de género del público como la falta de información de las artistas sobre los mercados extranjeros van a disminuir las probabilidades de las mujeres para exportar sus productos de manera exitosa en comparación con sus homólogos hombres. Para investigar esta relación y descubrir cómo puede contrarrestarse, estudiamos a artistas coreanas de 2000 a 2015. Documentamos que las mujeres artistas tienen más dificultades para exponer en galerías extranjeras que los hombres, aunque estos efectos negativos pueden mitigarse mediante una educación de élite y la participación en programas de residencia artística. Los programas de residencia ayudan a las mujeres artistas a desarrollar redes a partir de sus interacciones con compañeras, pero estos beneficios se erosionan rápidamente en relación con los beneficios de la educación. Estas conclusiones nos ayudan a comprender cómo crear igualdad de condiciones entre los géneros en los intercambios culturales mundiales y sugieren que las instituciones que crean redes, como los programas de residencias artísticas, pueden reducir eficazmente la desigualdad de género.

Resumo

Indústrias culturais ajudam a construir economias baseadas na criatividade e a estimular intercâmbios culturais de âmbito mundial, mas este processo apresenta limitações. Uma dessas restrições é o tratamento desigual de gêneros. Quando artistas femininas exportam produtos culturais, elas enfrentam uma “desvantagem devida ao gênero”, definida como dificuldades específicas de gênero em superar a desvantagem da ser estrangeiro. Tanto as expectativas do público em relação ao gênero quanto a falta de informação de artistas sobre mercados estrangeiros reduzirão a probabilidade de mulheres artistas exportarem com sucesso produtos culturais, em relação a seus pares masculinos. Diferenças na educação e conexões a redes sociais reforçam este efeito. Para investigar esta relação e descobrir como ela pode ser amenizada, estudamos artistas coreanos de 2000 a 2015. Documentamos que mulheres artistas têm mais dificuldade em expor em galerias estrangeiras do que homens, mas estes efeitos negativos podem ser mitigados por educação de elite e pela participação em programas de residência artística. Programas de residência auxiliam artistas mulheres a desenvolver redes a partir das suas interações com colegas mulheres, mas estes benefícios diminuem rapidamente em relação aos benefícios da educação. Estas descobertas nos ajudam a compreender como criar condições equitativas entre gêneros em intercâmbios culturais mundiais e sugerem que instituições de construção de redes, como os programas de residência artística, podem efetivamente reduzir a desigualdade de gênero.

摘要

文化产业有助于建设以创意为基础的经济并刺激世界范围的文化交流, 但这一过程面临着限制。其中一个限制因素是性别待遇不平等。当女性艺术家出口文化产品时, 她们面临着“性别劣势”, 定义为在克服外来劣势时性别所特有的困难。观众的性别期望和艺术家缺乏有关国外市场的信息都会相对于男性艺术家而言降低女性艺术家成功出口文化产品的概率。教育和社交网络关系的差异强化了这一效应。为了研究这一关系并发现如何抵消它, 我们研究了 2000 年至 2015 年的韩国艺术家。我们记录到, 女性艺术家比男性艺术家在外国画廊展出更加困难, 不过这些负面影响可以通过精英教育和艺术驻留项目的参与来减轻。驻留项目帮助女性艺术家通过与女性同龄人的互动来发展网络, 但与教育的好处相比, 这些好处很快就会消失。这些发现帮助我们了解如何在全球文化交流中创造一个跨性别的公平竞争环境, 并表明艺术驻留项目等网络建设制度可有效地减少性别不平等。