Cheri Gaulke Releases Film on Los Angeles Women's Building

The new documentary chronicles the history of the influential feminist arts center through interviews and archival footage.

Updated on Oct. 15, 2026 in Women’s Issues

Cheri Gaulke Releases Film on Los Angeles Women's Building

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Director Cheri Gaulke has released the documentary Acting Like Women, which explores the legacy of the Woman's Building in Los Angeles. The film highlights the history of the center that served as a hub for feminist performance art in the 1970s and 1980s.

Why it matters

The documentary preserves the history of feminist performance art by showcasing the work and protests that defined the Woman's Building. It captures the contributions of 50 artists and historians to ensure this era of Los Angeles art remains documented.

The production spanned 7 years and features interviews with 50 artists and art historians. The film utilizes archival stills and stop-motion animation to recreate historical events, including a 1983 protest at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

The players

Cheri Gaulke

She is the director of Acting Like Women and a Los Angeles-based artist who spent seven years producing the film.

Judy Chicago

She is an influential feminist artist who co-founded the Woman's Building in 1973.

Maren Hassinger

She is a sculptor and performer who protested the lack of Black artist representation at a 1983 feminist exhibition.

Senga Nengudi

She is a prominent artist and performer who participated in the 1983 protest at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Getty Research Institute

This institution serves as the official repository for the archives of the Woman's Building covering 1973 to 1991.

The details

The film uses archival materials and ephemera held at the Getty Research Institute to document the Woman's Building, which was founded in 1973 by Judy Chicago, Sheila de Bretteville, and Arlene Raven. The documentary also features stop-motion recreations of a 1983 protest, where Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi challenged the exclusion of Black artists from a feminist exhibition.

1973: The Woman's Building is founded in Los Angeles.
1973-1991: Time period covered by the Woman's Building archives.
1983: Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi protest at the Long Beach Museum of Art.
2019: Cheri Gaulke begins the documentary project.
October 2026: The documentary Acting Like Women is released.

Culture Shift

This project reflects a broader societal move toward reclaiming and preserving marginalized histories through contemporary media. By digitizing and interpreting the Getty Research Institute's Woman's Building archives, the film bridges the gap between historical feminist activism and current art discourse.

Viewers in the Los Angeles area can engage with local art history by watching the documentary, which offers a deep dive into a significant period of city culture. The film provides a practical way for audiences to understand the origins of local feminist art spaces and their ongoing influence.

The takeaway

Documentaries like this provide essential context to the origins of local art institutions and the activists who built them. Audiences can look to such films as a model for how to synthesize historical archives into accessible storytelling.