Cheri Gaulke’s art and life were profoundly changed in 1975, when she moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles to join the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman’s Building. There she embraced the notion that feminist art could raise consciousness, invite dialogue, and transform culture. She worked primarily in performance art from 1974-1992, addressing themes such as the body, religion, sexual identity, and the environment.  In addition to her solo work, she co-founded collaborative performance groups Feminist Art Workers (1976-81) and Sisters Of Survival (1981-85). Gaulke’s solo and collaborative work were recently featured in Pacific Standard Time exhibitions at LACE and the Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College. Gaulke’s art continues to be a vehicle for social commentary, and as a way to tell the stories of individuals and groups under-represented in society. Her public art includes a Metro station and a Filipino WWII Veterans Memorial; her artists’ books are in university and museum collections nationwide and her videos have been screened in film festivals internationally. As an educator, Gaulke has mentored hundreds of award-winning youth videos as Visual Arts Department Chair at Harvard-Westlake School and Artistic Director of The Righteous Conversations Project.

Guest Lecturer Spring 2013