Abstract: This project details a history of institutional critique established through the operation of alternative exhibition spaces, most notably those of domestic space. I am arguing that institutional space has been designed purposefully to exclude and consistently devalue the production and contribution of women in a professional art context. Through the occupation of domestic and alternative space, women, and other individuals outside of the traditional narrative, are deconstructing the terms of the authoritative museum structure. This project deals specifically in the changing dynamics of art space before, during and after the advent of Modernism in the late 19th early 20th century. Historic and contextual examples considered include Gertrude Stein’s salon, the Cone Sisters, Peggy Guggenheim’s palazzo, Womanhouse, and more recent alternative and pop-up art spaces.