The Donation of the Early Work
In the course of the exhibition "Mothers of Invention - where is performance coming from" (MUMOK Factory, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Dec. 6. 2003 - Feb. 1. 2004) the group of female artists >a room of one’s own< are donating their early work to well-known art institutions.

>a room of one’s own< intends to mirror the incompleteness of the patriarchal historiography of art, based on institutional representation and a traditional notion of the art object. This manifests in the obvious hesitancy of institutions to incorporate women into the art canon and in the low visibility of feminist art production. The donation therefore turns the game of the possession and transfer of concepts and products into a feminist strategy, whereby aspects of capitalism's logic are infiltrated and recharged with new meanings.

Corresponding to the focus of "Mothers of Invention" on performative spaces, the donation is to be seen as a continuation of previous actions realised by >a room of one's own<. Some of these actions placed feminist ideas in public space while others operated as institutional critique.

The early work of >a room of one's own< includes any work and action produced between the date of the foundation of the group and today (detailed documentation can be found on www.aroomofonesown.at). For the time being, the donation is made to 10 leading international museums, chosen as examples for their contemporary exhibition and collection practices:

Museum of Modern Art New York
Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Migros Museum, Zürich
Museum Ludwig, Köln
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Museo d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona
Tate Modern, London
J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

However, corresponding to the frequency with which female positions are still being ignored in art institutions - whether consciously or unconsciously – the donation is not a "limited edition".
GIFT TILL THEY SHIFT!