Lysistrata, by Aristophanes, was first performed in Athens in 411 BC. The play, while fictional, can be read as an early example of creative activism. It is about Lysistrata's quest to end the war between Athens and Sparta. She gathers the women of Athens and makes them swear an oath to deny their lovers and husband sex until they end the war.
Alice Paul, along with Lucy Burns, joined the National American Woman suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1912. They were allowed to take over the NAWSA Congressional Committee in DC but were given no office or funds. For months Paul and Burns fundraised and significantly increased awareness for the cause. On March 3, 1913 (the eve of President Wilson's inauguration) Paul organized a parade, unparalleled in the capital.
The “Perceiving Freedom” glasses sculpture on Cape Town’s Sea Point promenade looking towards Robben Island, commemorates late President Nelson Mandela and the values of freedom and equality.
What the Skirt Lifts is a day long protest against gender discrimination initiated by student Arthur Moinet and sanctioned by the Académie de Nantes, made up of local school officials. Both male and female students were encouraged to school wearing skirts. Those who did not feel comfortable wearing skirts were invited to participate by wearing a sticker which read: I am fighting against sexism, are you?
On Christmas day in 1993, kids were finding more than they bargained for under their trees: Mattel’s new talking Barbie dolls growled “Dead men tell no lies,” while Hasbro’s macho GI Joe’s chirped “I love to shop with you.”
Four prominent Australian artists – Aretha Brown, Claire Martin, Kaff-eine and Jane Gillings – will gather in Canberra this Sunday, to discuss their art, activism and ideas, marking the closing weekend of Kambri’s HERE I AM festival.
The Art Activism by Great Women Conference is a day-long event, involving artist talks, Q&A sessions, panel discussions, afternoon tea, wine tasting and networking.
Elisa and Lily chose to create StyleLikeU as an alternative to this disempowering status quo. In 2009, the duo picked up a home video camera and launched their "Closet" series, documenting diverse individuals who were challenging fashion industry norms in their style.
Design4Peace is a collection of political posters created by Leslie Dwyer. Images speak to issues of war and peace, prisons, solidarity and movement, immigration, economy and class, violence against women, ecology, agriculture, racism, and gender. Leslie works with movement and educational organizations, such as Veterans for Peace and Teaching for Change to support their work visually.
The SlutWalk protest marches began on April 3, 2011, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and became a movement of rallies across the world. Participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance.
Our Action: We set up “I’m every Woman” as a 3D street installation. It took place on the Boardwalk, Cork City on the weekend of International Women’s week.
Our aims were to promote gender-equality. As a group we identified women as locally and globally dehumanized. We challenged this by honouring women and interacting with people we encountered to celebrate women, both locally and globally.
“ARTICULO 6: narratives of gender, strength and politics” is an activist design project that aims to raise awareness about the case of forced sterilizations implemented during the government of Alberto Fujimori in Peru.
“The Feminist Zine Fest showcases the work of artists and zine makers of all genders who identify on the feminist spectrum, and whose politics are reflected in their work. For the second consecutive year, Barnard proudly hosts the zine fest, welcoming approximately 40 zine-makers eager to share their work.
The work of South African artist Mary Sibande tells the tale of her alter-ego Sophie, a domestic worker who finds refuge in dreams where she emancipates herself from the ghoulish realism of an ordinary existence, cleaning other people's homes.
Exploring the construction of identity within post-apartheid South Africa, Sibande's work probes the stereotypical contextualisation of the black female body.
Haiti is a conservative society where Roman Catholicism shapes many of its social norms. Patriarchal norms, says Haitian feminist Pascale Solages, co-founder and general coordinator of feminist organization Nègès Mawon, have informed its strict views on abortion. In Haiti, women can’t legally access voluntary abortions. Doctors can’t perform them unless the woman’s life is in danger.
Many girls in China may have seen the advertisements of egg donation as a surrogate, in hospitals, schools, public toilets, shared bikes, ATMs...... They are everywhere and the number of this kind of advertisements is large. Though there are lots of girls who have never seen such advertisements or would never believe in them, there would still be some girls who would dial the numbers on the advertisements.
Say hello to ArtActivistBarbie (AAB), whose modus operandi is small signs, big questions and a fabulous wardrobe. With her inviting call to arms, “Refuse to be the muse!” this fierce new incarnation of Barbie is helping to challenge art galleries and museums worldwide about their woeful lack of women and other minorities in their collections, and reluctance to consider the female gaze.
Yumi Ishikawa, a Japanese actress, freelance writer, and part-time funeral parlor worker, started the #KuToo Movement because she feels it’s unfair she has to wear heels at work. She also feels that being required to wear heels is rooted in a cultural problem, one much deeper than physical discomfort.