Being a Girl*!?
From Panel Painting to Social Media
exhibition view 
exhibition view 
exhibition view 
exhibition view 
exhibition view 
exhibition view 
Muntean/Rosenblum, Untitled (In the world we …), 2003 
Borjana Ventzislavova, from the series „Me, You and Them. No one is secure“, 2008 
Dwora Fried, Big Red Riding Hood, 2018 
Rosa Rendl, Never Tired, 2015 
Pablo Picasso, Jeune fille espagnole devant la mer, 1901 
Isa Schieche, Filmstill Essayfilm - Dirty Care, 2024 
Elisabeth von Samsonow, Miss Fortune, 1998 
Eugenie Breithut-Munk, Kindertanz, 1905 
Ceija Stojka, Selbstporträt mit tätowierter KZ-Nummer, around 2000 
Alfredo Barsuglia, Mädchen mit Schere, 2006 
Anna Breit, Emma and Debra, from the series „Teens (in their rooms)“, 2021
What motivates girls today and what role models have been handed down to us from the past? Contemporary art often deals with images of girls in socially motivated themes: Coming of age, self-optimisation tendencies – often in interaction with social media – fluid genders, issues of diversity, interculturality and inclusion.
In addition to early representational portraits and images of saints, female children and adolescents appear throughout the ages as models of artists or as an expression of blossoming life in conflict with transience. In nine thematic circles, the exhibition moves towards the era of digital transformation along several intermediate
temporal stages.
With over 150 art works by international artists, the exhibition attempts to analyse and break up the current situation by referring back to modes of representation from earlier times. By taking the initiative, girls show the world who they really are!
Curator: Brigitte Reutner-Doneus
Exhibition Design: Margit Greinöcker & Tobias Hagleitner
Concept and Design of Das Zimmer: Cécile Belmont and the Lentos Art Education Team
Artists
Iris Andraschek, Markus Åkesson, Özlem Altin, Iris Christine Aue, Laila Bachtiar, Alfredo Barsuglia, Margret Bilger, Hans Böhler, Dietmar Brehm, Anna Breit, Eugenie Breithut-Munk, Maria Bussmann, Heinrich Campendonk, Emil Czech, Canan Dagdelen, Stephan Dakon, Albin Egger-Lienz, Josef Engelhart, Claire Fontaine, Lucian Freud, Gertrud Frey, Dwora Fried, Hans Fronius, Georgios Georgolios, Lucy Glendinning, Dorothee Golz, Nilbar Güreş, Marlene Haring, Anna Elisabeth Hausswolff , Julie Hayward, Nina Hollein, Bu Hua, Wolfgang Hutter, Isolde Jurina, Bernhard Keilhau, Demeter Koko, Jaroslav Král, Iris Legendre, Maximiliano León, Mike Mac Keldey, Matthias May, Jürgen Messensee, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Fernando Moleres, Kolo Moser, Muntean/Rosenblum, Rinke Nijburg, Felix Nussbaum, Monika Oechsler, Lorraine O’Grady, Margit Palme, Sergius Pauser, Karin Maria Pfeifer, Vanessa Jane Phaff , Pablo Picasso, Rory Pilgrim, Charmaine Poh, Teresa Präauer, Bernhard Prinz, Odilon Redon, Johann Baptist Reiter, Rosa Rendl, Anton Romako, Elisabeth von Samsonow, Isa Schieche, Egon Schiele, Martin Johann Schmidt, Rosa Schweninger, Jakob Seisenegger, Clara Siewert, Wu Shaoxiang, Anna Skladmann, Edith Stauber, Ceija Stojka, Annelies Štrba, Jutta Strohmaier, Sophia Süßmilch, Magda Tothova, Veronika Veit, Borjana Ventzislavova, Maja Vukoje, Bertha Wuilleumier, Amelie von Wulffen
Publication
| Date | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 29.01 | The Room: Why Girls Should Make a Revolution What role have girls played in history, and what role should they play in the future? With Elisabeth von Samsonow (artist and philosopher). | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Sat 07.02 | Express Tour: Being a Girl*!? This tour offers an insight into the Lentos. It looks at the museum‘s history and collection of art and includes highlights of the present special exhibition. Language: English, Ticket: 3€ plus admission, duration: 45min | 4:00 pm–4:45 pm |
| Thu 12.02 | The Room: A Collective Intervention in the Exhibition by and with Students of Körnergymnasium Linz 24 students from Körnergymnasium Linz will be present in the exhibition “Being a Girl*!? — each individually with their own story, and all together as a collective. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Thu 19.02 | The Room: Becoming Visible in Public Space — Sticker Workshop with Magdalena Zilcher (art educator) as part of “Museum Total” Using felt-tip pens, white sticker rolls, and a black-and-white thermal printer, we create our own stickers while exploring what public space means to us — and where we feel represented within it. The exhibition “Mädchen sein?!”* serves as a starting point for reflecting on visibility and participation. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Thu 26.02 | Dialogue Tour: “Because I’m a Girl…” Curator Brigitte Reutner-Doneus will lead a conversational tour of the exhibition together with youth participant Emma Strasser. Registration requested at +43 732 7070 3614 or online. | 6:00 pm–7:00 pm |
| Thu 05.03 | The Room: Short Film Evening with Parisa Ghasemi (artist, International Short Film Festival Linz) „Das Zimmer“ lädt ein zum Chillen, Lesen, Schreiben, Zeichnen, Denken – auch zum Diskutieren und Mitgestalten. An ausgewählten Donnerstagabenden laden wir von 18:00 – 20:00 ein, um mit Jugendlichen und Gästen aus Geschichte, Philosophie, Aktivismus und Kunst über Themen und Fragen rund ums „Mädchen* sein“ zu sprechen, die Ausstellung und unsere eigenen Sichtweisen zu erkunden. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Sat 07.03 | Express Tour: Being a Girl*!? This tour offers an insight into the Lentos. It looks at the museum‘s history and collection of art and includes highlights of the present special exhibition. Language: English, Ticket: 3€ plus admission, duration: 45min | 4:00 pm–4:45 pm |
| Sun 08.03 | The Room: International Women’s Day Special – Overprint T‑Shirts Screen Printing Workshop (and Art Talks in the Exhibition) on the occasion of International Women’s Day with Cécile Belmont (artist). A brand logo? A floral motif on a blouse? A geometric fabric pattern? We go louder and invent our own images and statements, which we overprint using screen-printing with paper stencils. It’s about creativity, appropriation, and liberating humor. | 10:00 am–1:00 pm |
| Sun 08.03 | Curators Tour: Being a Girl*!? Backgrounds and Contexts Curators’ tour with Brigitte Reutner-Doneus. Registration requested at +43 732 7070 3614 or online. | 2:00 pm–3:00 pm |
| Sun 08.03 | Curators Tour: Being a Girl*!? Backgrounds and Contexts Curators’ tour with Brigitte Reutner-Doneus. Registration requested at +43 732 7070 3614 or online. | 4:00 pm–5:00 pm |
| Thu 12.03 | The Room: Taboo Violence – Experiences, Courage, New Beginnings. What helped to overcome — sexualized — violence? Short film and talk with Sylvi Ritt and Elke Groen, with creative activities to spark conversation Violence stands at the beginning. Women share their experiences as voices — at home, on the beach, or in front of a computer. But what happens afterwards? How do things continue? A short film by Elke Groen and Sylvi Ritt. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Tue 17.03 | Baby Tour: Changing Role Models. On the exhibition Being a Girl*!? A relaxed tour through the exhibition, specially tailored to the needs of visitors with babies. Admission: museum ticket only. | 10:30 am–11:30 am |
| Thu 19.03 | The Room: Art Talk & Discussion – Deconstructing Girls* Child Protection, Safeguarding Policies, and Transfeminist Aesthetics and Practices — Luce deLire and Isa Schieche in conversation with Petz Haselmayer. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Sat 04.04 | Express Tour: Being a Girl*!? This tour offers an insight into the Lentos. It looks at the museum‘s history and collection of art and includes highlights of the present special exhibition. Language: English, Ticket: 3€ plus admission, duration: 45min | 4:00 pm–4:45 pm |
The Room
The Room invites visitors to relax, read, write, draw, think – and also to discuss and co-create. Encounter the artistic works of young people and adults who have already left their traces and thoughts behind.
On the following Thursday evenings, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., we invite you to join us in The Room: together with guests from the fields of history, philosophy, activism, art, and with young people, we will talk about topics and questions related to “being a girl*,” explore the exhibition, and reflect on our own perspectives.
| Date | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 29.01 | The Room: Why Girls Should Make a Revolution What role have girls played in history, and what role should they play in the future? With Elisabeth von Samsonow (artist and philosopher). | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Thu 12.02 | The Room: A Collective Intervention in the Exhibition by and with Students of Körnergymnasium Linz 24 students from Körnergymnasium Linz will be present in the exhibition “Being a Girl*!? — each individually with their own story, and all together as a collective. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Thu 19.02 | The Room: Becoming Visible in Public Space — Sticker Workshop with Magdalena Zilcher (art educator) as part of “Museum Total” Using felt-tip pens, white sticker rolls, and a black-and-white thermal printer, we create our own stickers while exploring what public space means to us — and where we feel represented within it. The exhibition “Mädchen sein?!”* serves as a starting point for reflecting on visibility and participation. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Thu 05.03 | The Room: Short Film Evening with Parisa Ghasemi (artist, International Short Film Festival Linz) „Das Zimmer“ lädt ein zum Chillen, Lesen, Schreiben, Zeichnen, Denken – auch zum Diskutieren und Mitgestalten. An ausgewählten Donnerstagabenden laden wir von 18:00 – 20:00 ein, um mit Jugendlichen und Gästen aus Geschichte, Philosophie, Aktivismus und Kunst über Themen und Fragen rund ums „Mädchen* sein“ zu sprechen, die Ausstellung und unsere eigenen Sichtweisen zu erkunden. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Sun 08.03 | The Room: International Women’s Day Special – Overprint T‑Shirts Screen Printing Workshop (and Art Talks in the Exhibition) on the occasion of International Women’s Day with Cécile Belmont (artist). A brand logo? A floral motif on a blouse? A geometric fabric pattern? We go louder and invent our own images and statements, which we overprint using screen-printing with paper stencils. It’s about creativity, appropriation, and liberating humor. | 10:00 am–1:00 pm |
| Thu 12.03 | The Room: Taboo Violence – Experiences, Courage, New Beginnings. What helped to overcome — sexualized — violence? Short film and talk with Sylvi Ritt and Elke Groen, with creative activities to spark conversation Violence stands at the beginning. Women share their experiences as voices — at home, on the beach, or in front of a computer. But what happens afterwards? How do things continue? A short film by Elke Groen and Sylvi Ritt. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |
| Thu 19.03 | The Room: Art Talk & Discussion – Deconstructing Girls* Child Protection, Safeguarding Policies, and Transfeminist Aesthetics and Practices — Luce deLire and Isa Schieche in conversation with Petz Haselmayer. | 6:00 pm–8:00 pm |