GOLD COAST — The Museum of Contemporary Art is offering women a discount to a feminist photography exhibit to make up for the gender pay gap.
The exhibition, which kicks off Feb. 23, will feature work from photographer Laurie Simmons, who has spent decades using her art to challenge gender stereotypes. Simmons’ photos have long featured dolls, dollhouses, dummies and other items to make viewers question the role and depiction of women and femininity.
In honor of Simmons’ activism and photography, the museum decided to offer women a 19 percent discount to represent the average pay gap women experience, according to a museum news release.
That means the museum, which uses a donation system where people can pay what they want but typically encourages people to donate $15, is suggesting women and femme-identified people pay just $12. It determined the discount using data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, which found women working full-time made just 80.5 cents for every $1 a man made in 2017.
The discount will be available to “any visitor who has been affected by the gender pay gap,” according to the museum, but it noted that since it uses a suggestion-based system attendees can always pay what they prefer.
The exhibition starts Feb. 23 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. The suggested discount will be available until the end of the show on May 5.
The museum is free to people ages 18 and younger.