Late last year it attracted major press attention with word that this year it would only purchase works by women, drawing both praise and skepticism. It also gave the museum pause to do some soul-searching: of its 95,000 works, only four percent are by women artists, says Bedford. CENTURIES OF DISCRIMINATIONSo the museum will spend US$2.5 million this year on works by women. It will also reorganize several of its rooms to showcase the work of women and offer 20-odd exhibits of works by female artists. “I have observed that organizations and institutions use the word ‘radical’ as a sort of buzzword without actually implementing any programming or effort that is truly radical,” Henderson said.
