Creative Arts and Design

Relation to Girls' Education

There is an underrepresentation of women across the fields that lie within the art industry.

Today women remain dramatically underrepresented and undervalued in museums, galleries, and auction houses. 

• Three of the most-visited museums in the world, the British Museum (est. 1753), the Louvre (est. 1793), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (est. 1870) have never had female directors.

• Nearly half (45.8%) of visual artists in the United States are women; on average, they earn 74¢ for every dollar made by male artists.

• There are no women in the top 0.03% of the auction market, where 41% of the profit is concentrated. Overall, 96% of artworks sold at auction are by male artists.

• The NEA found that as women artists age, they earn progressively less than their male artist counterparts. Women artists aged 55–64 earn only 66¢ for each $1 earned by men.

• Women make up a majority of professional art museum staff; despite recent gains, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions.

• Women also remain underrepresented in the ballet world; despite the fact that women fill the stage, they are missing from leadership positions in the ballet world:
  • At the largest 50 ballet companies in the United States, 71 percent of artistic directors from founding to present have been men.
  • Worldwide, the odds that an artistic director of a major ballet company will have a female successor are just 29 percent.

The Creative Arts and Design Program will engage students in the core elements of design through both technical and practical skills. This program will focus on using various forms of media to promote self expressions and creativity. Mercy will foster the creativity and leadership within our students so they can bring these skills confidently into the world and their careers.