This project is currently underway
(WIP – Work In Progress)
Based on existing works, this Smith-Rider-Waite-style Tarot deck aims to bring attention to numerous female artists—some well-known, others less so—who have sometimes been forgotten or only recently rediscovered.
Their stories illustrate the mysteries and embody the archetypes, just as much as their fascinating work does.
The “Tarot of Women Artists” project is based on two observations:
- There are many tarot decks that use artists or works of art to depict the Arcana, but they don’t always adhere strictly to art historical principles (such as trying to align the artist’s intent with the card’s archetype)
- How many female artists can we name? About ten? It’s as if there had hardly ever been any throughout history.
This project is, above all, a major research effort aimed at bringing women—their works, their incredible lives, and sometimes their struggles—to the forefront.
This tarot deck will feature 78 female artists, representing as wide a range of diversity as possible (in terms of historical periods, countries, and backgrounds).
Today, an initial selection was made and a prototype was printed for testing.
The booklet is currently being written and is intended to help validate the decisions made.
It should be noted that the perspective underlying these choices will be heavily Europe-centric and therefore subjective, despite a sincere effort to ensure diversity in representation.
This game will also have an activist slant, aiming to tell these women’s stories while also exploring tarot archetypes from a new perspective, in an effort to shed light on systemic issues.
For obvious reasons related to copyright and reproduction, this tarot deck may not be published, distributed, or sold.
The booklet will be available for purchase along with a free printable PDF version of the game.
Some of the works were cropped to fit the Tarot format (60mm x 120mm)
To be continued …