Cheri Gaulke

Who is Cheri Gaulke?

Cheri Gaulke is a visual artist most known for her role in the Feminist Art Movement in southern California in the 1970s and her current work on gay and lesbian families. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a Master of Arts degree from Goddard College.

In 1975, Gaulke moved to Los Angeles and became involved with the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman's Building. At the Feminist Studio Workshop, Gaulke studied with Suzanne Lacy and focused primarily on performance art. There she created a character she called Cinderella, who Gaulke describes as not conforming to any specific sex or gender role and thus "in a constant state of transformation." In addition to her solo work, Gaulke collaborated with Anne Gauldin to produce The Malta Project, in which the two performed rites related to female spirituality at prehistoric temples throughout Malta. Gaulke has been a co-founder of two collaborative feminist performance groups: Feminist Art Workers, co-founded with Nancy Angelo, Candace Compton, Vanalyne Green, and Laurel Klick, and Sisters of Survival, co-founded in 1981 with Nancy Angelo, Jerri Allyn, Anne Gauldin, and Sue Maberry.