Founded 1996 | ||
Bad Girrls Studios was a popular Boston gallery and performance space from 1996 to 2000, located at 209 Green Street in Jamaica Plain. Founded by School of the Museum of Fine Arts student Jessica Brand, the artist-run studio hosted numerous events until it closed due to pressure from the Boston Licensing Commission and lack of funding.
Bad Girrls Studios supported female artists in particular, and art that pushed boundaries of sexual orientation and gender identity, the largest of which was a 1998 exhibit "Naughty Girrls Nite @ Bad Girrls Studios", produced by studio member Rebecca Goldberg, which drew over 50 women artists and performers from New York and New England.
Several of the studio members were also co-founders or members of the Art School Cheerleaders. This performance art group, which began at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, used Cheerleading as a medium for satirical commentary about art and the art world, and to advocate for arts funding.
The artist-run gallery was partially inspired by another important performance art space in Boston during that time, Mobius Artists Group, that brought cutting-edge performance artists to Boston through an international exchange program. Mobius had been founded by another member of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts community, instructor Marilyn Arsem.
Bad Girrls Studios operated under the slogan "Art is Not A Luxury."