It seems that every art venue in the Twin Cities is playing host to a gorilla-masked wearing group of female activists called the Guerrilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls promote equality in the arts and within the community. These anonymous artists are exhibiting in many galleries in the Twin Cities promoting their cause using art, acting, dialogues, and even karaoke.

The Guerrilla Girls began in 1985 when a group of female artists realized that the art world was overrun by men. Offended and appalled, this group of women created posters and displayed them on the streets of New York to expose art galleries for the power-driven businesses that they were becoming. The Guerrilla Girls see the lack of female artists featured in galleries as yet another struggle for power that women face in today’s world. They created Guerrilla Girls to provide knowledge, display their art, and to address general inequality within the art world as a whole.

The Guerrilla Girls have become more than female activists; they have become cultural activists branching off from female disparity and addressing racial and religious disparities within the mainstream. It has been mostly men writing history up to this point, as they dominate art galleries, the White House and even best seller lists – these stories are not a proper depiction of our culture today. They simply tell a story of a power struggle between women and minorities to overcome the dominant culture and to be able to tell their stories.

The Guerrilla Girls hold a great deal of power in their thirty year battle, but remain masked for many reasons. First, it is a matter of personal security. Second, revealing their identities is a distraction and is not important to their cause. Although these women are artists, speakers, actresses, and activists – they wish no personal fame for the work they do with Guerrilla Girls. They also wish no personal fortune, as they do not demand lucrative profits for their artwork. They do not even sign their art or perform with their  personal names but rather take on pseudonyms of deceased female artists such as Frida Kahlo and Alma Thomas.

The Guerrilla Girls plan to host many events throughout the Twin Cities including gallery exhibits at MIA and Walker Art Center. They plan to host many small galleries in the Twin Cities, including the Instinct Gallery, The White Page Gallery, St. Catherine’s University, Augsburg University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and the Kolman & Pryor’s Gallery. Although art is their forte, they plan to host related events to spread awareness and show who they are.

The White Page Gallery welcomes the Guerrilla Girls for a contemporary performance of Basic Instinct titled “Basic Instinct 1:1.” The performance plans an all-female cast meant to convey a bigger message. This event will run the weekend of February 25th-27th. The Third Place Gallery also plans to host an event called “Girls to the Front: Celebrating Women’s Music through Karaoke.” This event is scheduled for March 2nd at 8:00 pm.

The Guerrilla Girls “Take Over Week” begins February 29th and ends March 5th. During this time they will “take over” Hennepin Ave with the promise of surprises. They even plan to stop by Bryant Lake Bowl during their takeover for some bowling and much needed celebration on March 4th. Eventually they will wrap up their takeover on March 5th at the State Theater at 8:00 pm where many founding members of the Guerrilla Girls will perform and speak about their history and their message.