This exhibition celebrates a decade of feminist photography

From the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran to the reversal of Roe v Wade in the US, women’s rights have been imperilled in various critical ways over the last 10 years. “We can never be complacent about hard-won rights,” says curator Sarah Allen. “There is therefore an ongoing need to platform these issues.” Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest (the upcoming show at the South London Gallery, created in collaboration with the V&A) is a vital contemporary exploration of activist art, reflecting on how global events affecting women have been documented and brought to the world’s attention through photography, and how the production and dissemination of photographic images can itself be a crucial act of protest. 

“The exhibition brings together artists who are working at the intersection of feminist practice. It focuses on the last ten years, during which it is argued that a fourth wave of feminism emerged,“ explains co-curator Sarah Allen. The show features 18 international artists who each, in different ways, use photography as a form of protest. From Nan Goldin and Guerrilla Girls to Zanele Muholi, Laia Abril, and Hoda Afshar the exhibition focuses on artists whose “activism through art and life are inseparable”. Allen continues, “There is, of course, no one feminism but rather many overlapping and often differing approaches to feminist practice. The show explores some emerging traits over the past decade, for example, the role of social media as a tool of protest.”

“Resistance can happen on many different registers. Zanele Muholi and Tourmaline both came to art through activism. We have artists such as Poulomi Basu who have partnered with charities such as Water Aid to amplify the impact of their work. Aida Silvestri’s artwork has become a tool used in NHS hospitals to aid diagnosis of FGM. Saidiya Hartman writes about ‘revolutions in a minor key’ which is a concept I love –  for me, this seems to speak to a form of activism that is focused on survival and care.”

“The exhibition foregrounds artists for whom the act of making activist feminist art is profoundly personal and an ongoing concern,” co-curator Rodgers adds. “Self-care is not a luxury, it is an act of political warfare,“ Allen continues, recalling a concept created by renowned writer, philosopher and civil rights activist Audre Lorde. Rodgers elaborates: “Many of the featured artists link their art and activist responses to systemic and historic injustices. For most of the artists, the problems are both personal and political. For many, simply existing is a form of resistance.”

“Each artist has a deep commitment to their subject, mostly informed by their own experiences. Each uses photography or film in a surprising way to challenge traditional forms of documentary and push the concept of ‘protest’ photography. By working with their own stories and in collaborating with communities, these artists are also challenging the history of photography and the power dynamic of artist and subject.”

Allen concludes: “Another hope might be that, having seen the show, viewers might enact their own acts of resistance in their daily lives, however small they may seem. Again, I come back to Lorde who said, ‘It is becoming always vigilant for the smallest opportunity to make a genuine change in established, outgrown responses.’” 

Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest opens at the South London Gallery on the 8th of March and runs until 9th June 2024.