WOMEN’S ARCHIVES AND COLLECTIONS AT CEDOC/FUNARTE:

A DIAGNOSIS

Abstract

This article aims to present a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the presence of women in the collection held by the Documentation and Research Center of the National Art Foundation (CEDOC/Funarte). Formed over decades, since the 1970s, this documentary heritage has an unusual characteristic when compared to other similar institutions: it contains a large number of sets of documents produced and/or accumulated by women. Although fewer in number when compared to the male holders, this evidence has instigated us to reflect on how to increase the visibility of such producers. To this end, we sought, as an initial action, to contextualize the formation of the private collection under the custody of the entity, to present the quantitative survey of women producers of archives and collections, and to map their main functions and respective fields of action. Finally, we point to other possible strategies that seek to identify the female presence in CEDOC's Private Archives, beyond the ownership.