This is an Emergency!: Art for Reproductive and Gender Justice

A SYTYCB entry

This is an Emergency! is an art project released this week that was curated and organized by Providence-based artist, Meredith Stern. The portfolio contains prints, essays and interviews focusing on reproductive and gender justice. The “emergency,” of course, is the onslaught of proposed bills restricting our necessary access to abortion services and contraceptives. This collection is one response to that crisis, highlighting the visual and oral expressions of women and LGBTQ people, whose voices are not prioritized in national conversations.

This project has a very compelling inter-generational approach —people in their 20s and 30s interviewed their elders and mentors, recording the stories of what feminism, anti-racism and gay-rights looked liked for individuals in times before and shortly after Roe V. Wade. Through this project, we hear the somewhat-forgotten narratives of how women organized pre-Roe to provide safe abortions for women in their communities, how an older generation of women learned about sex and reproductive health, and many more stories that remind us that even though the struggle seems endless, if we organize, we will change things.

One of the most transcendent pieces of the collection was created by Meredith Stern in a print entitled, “Hear Me Roar,” where cis women and trans women stand together in front of Lady Liberty. The title originates from the song by Helen Reddy “I am Woman,” which was deemed the theme song for the historic “Year of the Woman” in 1975. This piece connects the ideas of retaining the power and lessons learned from feminism of past generations, all while demanding that the movement continue to change into something more inclusive and resonant  (especially for women of color and trans people) because together, we are more powerful.

It was bell hooks who said that “The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is—it’s to imagine what is possible.” This collection helps us chronicle the past and visualize the future. Reading these stories and viewing the prints, you cannot help but imagine yourself in the long history of women and allies who fought (and continue to) fight for the rights we have.

View the porfolio here. Or buy the portfolio here.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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