Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest



January 4, 2024

Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest is a new collaborative group exhibition organised with the South London Gallery and the V&A’s Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project, which brings together works by international artists and collectives who are using the camera to challenge and move beyond traditional protest photography.

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Photography has long been associated with acts of resistance. It is used to document action, share ideas, inspire change, tell stories, gather evidence and fight injustice. This urgent and political new exhibition explores feminism and activism from an international and highly contemporary perspective. It highlights different artistic approaches over the past decade; a period which is discussed as generating a ‘fourth wave’ of feminism. The show examines how this relates to feminisms across different regions and maps common concerns including expanding intersectionality, transnational solidarity, and the use of social media and digital technology as a tool for change.

Chapungu – The Day Rhodes Fell, Sethembile Msezane, 2015. Courtesy of the Artist

Acts of Resistance will reflect on recent events from across the globe, such as the ‘Me Too’ movement in 2017; anti-rape protests in Bangladesh responding to the rise in violence against women and girls in 2020; the US Supreme Court overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022; as well as the ongoing protests against the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Untitled #14 from the In Turn series, Hoda Afshar, 2023. © Hoda Afshar, Image courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery, Meeanjin/Brisbane.

Artists include: Laia Abril, Hoda Afshar, Poulomi Basu, Nan Goldin, Guerrilla Girls, Sofia Karim, Mari Katayama, Teresa Margolles, Sethembile Msezane, Zanele Muholi, Wendy Red Star, Tabita Rezaire, Raphaela Rosella, Aida Silvestri, Sheida Soleimani, Hannah Starkey, Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel, and Carmen Winant.

This is a collaborative exhibition between the SLG and the V&A as part of the V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project, made possible by the generous, ongoing support of Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and The Parasol Foundation Trust.

The exhibition will open at the South London Gallery on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024. For more information visit South London Gallery’s website.

Join us for a free Lunchtime Lecture on 7 March at 13:00 which will introduce the key themes and participating international artists from the exhibition.

Happy Birthday Marsha!, Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel, 2018. Courtesy of the artists and Chapter NY, New York

This is a collaborative exhibition between the SLG and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) as part of the V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project, and will open on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024.  Curated by Sarah Allen, Head of Programme, South London Gallery and Fiona Rogers, The V&A’s Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography, with Lily Tonge, Curator, Exhibitions and Events, South London Gallery.

The V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project is generously funded by Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and The Parasol Foundation Trust

The exhibition at South London Galley is funded by:

Lead Exhibition Donor: The Bukhman Family Foundation
Exhibition Donors: Bagri Foundation, Action 4 Equality Scotland, Elizabeth Brooks, and the Exhibition Supporters’ Circle
Public Programme Funder: The Ampersand Foundation’

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