Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly

Coming directly from the artist-activists themselves, this career-spanning book explores the Guerrilla Girls provocative street campaigns, unforgettable media appearances, and large-scale exhibitions. More than a monograph, this book is a call to arms. One punch-out gorilla mask included with each copy.

In 1985, a bunch of feminist masked avengers began plastering posters all over downtown New York. They named galleries, museums, critics, collectors, and white male artists who contributed to an art system prejudiced against women and artists of colour. Since then, the collective has produced hundreds of projects exposing bias and corruption in art, film, pop culture and politics. Their unforgettable graphics have become a global phenomenon.

This is the first book to document the Guerrilla Girls' entire wild career of provocative street campaigns, books, performances, large-scale exhibitions at museums and more. The Guerrilla Girls contextualise their visuals and elaborate on their intersectional takedown of the patriarchy in their own words throughout this book. Each copy comes with its own wearable gorilla mask, inviting readers to step up and join the movement themselves.

Guerrilla Girls are an activist collective of artists who strive to ‘fight discrimination through humour, activism, and the arts’, highlighting sexism, racism and elitism in the art world. Formed in the 1980s, their work continues today with artworks and public events exposing discrimination, plus talks and workshops in schools, colleges and art institutions.