EMPOWERMENT, KUNSTMUSEUM WOLFSBURG
‘To me belongs mankind, given wholly to me. I have entered as a falcon. I have gone forth. Morning star, make a path for me so that I may enter in peace into the beautiful West. I belong to the pool of Horus. Act for me so that I may enter and I may adore Osiris, Lord of Life.’
Extract from Chapter 13: Vindication of the deceased/ An Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead/ The Papyrus of Sobekmose
Series: The Myths of Eternal Life, Chapter IV, 165x207cm, indigo dyed linen, Monotype print, Screenprint, hand threaded stitches, 2021
GROUP EXHIBITION
September 10th 2022 to January 8th 2023
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg, Germany
It is based on the central thesis that more broadly conceived and imagined feminisms are the most progressive methods to analyse the world through the means of art. The exhibition will show feminist works and activist positions from the 21st century that question social inequality, sexism, racism, anti-Semitism etc. and redefine the relationship between bodies, technology, political and ecological issues from post- and decolonial, anti-racist, migratory, diverse, and intersectional perspectives.
Despite worldwide movements, demonstrations, and petitions to establish equality, it is still not possible in the twenty-first century to speak of comprehensive gender equality with regard to women and LGBTQIA+ communities—neither in this country nor elsewhere. In many places, structural relationships of power and inequality prevent equal payment or the remuneration of domestic work and ensure oppression and exploitation up to physical violence or even murder: Countless artists worldwide react to these untenable conditions with their works in order to achieve equal and future-oriented life opportunities for themselves and other marginalized people. Now is exactly the right time to gain an overview of how artists imbue their art with political meaning and create such fascinating and evocative works of art.
With the exhibition Empowerment, the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg is for the first time offering such a comprehensive global overview of art and feminisms of the twenty-first century with roughly 100 artistic positions from some fifty countries from all continents. Within the framework of seven thematic fields that have emerged from the worldwide research (Protest & Empowerment, Gender & Identity, Herstories & Other Narratives, Desired & Violated Bodies, Labour of Care, Planetary Challenges, Feminist Futures), the artworks will explore the following questions, among others: How do artists act out of their respective situations in the postcolonial, digital present? What emancipatory understanding underlies their art? How do they broaden their view of a feminist-oriented future? Questions regarding social inequality, sexism, racism, migration, the relationship of bodies, technology, and ecological concerns will also be negotiated. These issues affect everyone.
Curators by Andreas Beitin, Katharina Koch, and Uta Ruhkamp