BEYOND 50%:
Panmela Castro | Ram Devineni & Dan Goldman | Tal Fitzpatrick |
Catherine Gomersall | Aldona Kmiec | Beyond Empathy | Grampians Womens' Health & Community
Curator: Felicity Martin
Beyond 50% explores the ways in which art can be used to influence cultural change, looking specifically at artists who seek to change the culture surrounding gender-based violence. It presents work by six international and Australian artists who identify as activists, craftivists, agitators and feminists.
While the feminist movement has highlighted the glaring gender inequalities within our society and proposed political and legislative changes, there has also been an increase in the statistics relating to violence against women through entrenched rape cultures, domestic violence, femicide, female infanticide, reproduction violence, both online sexism and violence. The shame and silence around gender-based violence has itself become a barrier to gender equality.
Since the 2016 Presidential election in the United States and the election of Donald Trump, there has been an interest in redefining, rewriting, re-mixing, re-performing and revisiting the work of radical second-wave feminist artists from the past. For Beyond 50%, curator Felicity Martin has brought together current and new work by Panmela Castro, a performance and street activist/artist living in Brazil; Ram Devineni and Dan Goldman, Indian film makers from the United States, who have created the Priyas' Shakti comic series, Melbourne craftivist Tal Fitzpatrick; and local artists Catherine Gomersall and Aldona Kmieć.
The exhibition also includes a community quilt project influenced by US collective FORCE Upsetting Rape Culture with participation by Women's Health Grampians and the community.
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
International Women's Day Morning Tea 08 March from 10.30am | Free event
HomeTRUTHS: Women Influencing Change
In conjunction with the exhibition the Art Gallery of Ballarat will present a special event on International Women’s Day with Kim McConville, Executive Director of Beyond Empathy will present the work on positive social change in our First Nations communities in rural New South Wales and launch the book Tinder Machina by Catherine Gomersall.
Exhibition drinks with the artists 09 March from 2pm | Free Event
Meet the artists and add to our quilt project to support survivors
Workshop: Craftivism: make with meaning and craftivist Tal Fitzpatrick 16 March from 2pm | Free event
Are you a craftivist or just like making stuff that has meaning? Tal Fitzpatrick will discuss her craftivist practice while you make a small banner with a message of your own.
