Meet five artivists who have collectively shown resilience!
Gabrielle Rocha Rios
"I was inspired by the theme of intersectional feminism (and intersectionality more broadly) to create a design depicting how different issues that affect women's lives worldwide (such as abortion access, LGBTQIA+ rights, and racism) are interconnected. I also drew inspiration from these words by Audre Lorde: "I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own. And I am not free as long as one person of Color remains chained. Nor is anyone of you."
About the artist:
Gabrielle Rocha Rios is a Brazilian intersectional feminist freelance designer currently based in Washington, DC. She specializes in conceptual and editorial illustrations for international nonprofit organizations and loves creating designs on topics such as feminism and mental health. Her work has been featured by organizations such as Girls' Globe and the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy.
She is also a PhD researcher in international and organizational psychology.
Nida Meyer
Calling the Shots!
"I envision a world where women take control of their finances. She makes her money which is not only Just but she can ground herself on it. I want to present mechanisms of feminist financing as a potent alternative contributing to dismantling oppressive structures and building a people-centered future. Existing financing policies fail to adequately fund feminist movements, overlook robust social protection mechanisms, and place women in vulnerable positions, relying on informal or underpaid care work while grappling with the consequences of debt and lack of resources."
About the artist:
Nida is a Pakistani communication design professional who has worn many hats within the creative realm as a communication designer, illustrator, copywriter, and visualizer. She has worked with coveted organizations such as UNOPS, Oxfam, Population Council, Norwegian Redcross, and WWF, to name a few. Her portfolio ranges in gender rights, SRHR, climate justice, education, and digital rights.
Being a feminist by heart, she loves what she does as her world views are reflected in her work. She has a passion for travelling and plays Tetris on the side.
Urmila Reghunath
"What are the ways in which allyship is practiced globally? How can a more effective spirit of solidarity be developed for ongoing global crises? People belonging to marginalized gender, caste, class and religious identities have been at the forefront of movements of resistance from time immemorial. They have catalyzed historic shifts in our perspectives on gender, human rights, and justice. And yet, the effects of colonialism persist as the powerful and privileged few don a myopic and self-centered lens on what their allyship means. This artwork critiques these superficial forms of allyship and visualizes the long history of oppression and resistance that is fuelling and inspiring movements of today. It is a reminder that solidarity cannot come with an expiration date, however weary and bleak the future may seem."
About the artist:
Urmila Reghunath is an artist and a communications consultant working in the development sector in India. Over the past 8 years, Urmila has been interested in learning about the role of art in activism and the ways in which ethical, contextual, decolonized storytelling can guide communication within the global development sector. Urmila is currently working as a Consultant Communications Manager at Shadhika, a global philanthropy supporting gender justice movements in India.
Valeria Andreolli
"The artwork symbolizes the resistance of black women against the Western standards of beauty widely promoted in mainstream culture. Quoting bell hooks, "within white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, the social and political context in which the custom of black folks straightening our hair emerges, it represents an imitation of the dominant white group’s appearance and often indicates internalized racism, self-hatred, and/or low self esteem". On the contrary, the artwork celebrates the empowerment of black women once they accept their bodies as they are and the liberation that comes with it."
About the artist:
Born in a village among the mountains in the North of Italy, Valeria graduated in Communication and Social Research in Rome and, since then, has been trying to combine her passions for writing, graphics, video and social causes.
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Shomira Sanyal
"Research on the gig economy has shown that women gig workers make up a very small percentage of this sector in various countries, and that the jobs they are employed for tend to be lesser-paying work. Overall, women gig workers also earn less than men in the same roles, and that several gig jobs leave less space for flexibility, especially for women who are mothers or are engaged in care-taking responsibilities at home.
These systemic barriers to women's participation in the gig economy, coupled with high likelihood of exploitation and gender-based discrimination, sets up women gig workers for new forms of structural discrimination with the increasing use of new technologies and platforms for services.
Gig workers around the world are facing similar challenges, and unionising to challenge the status quo and demand better working conditions and compensation is crucial. My artwork broadly touches upon these themes, through a gender perspective. "
About the artist:
Shomira works in the field of human rights, and enjoys infusing her passion for social justice issues into her artistic pursuits. Her interests lie in gender, labour, and human rights, and she follows a hand-drawn style for creating illustrations on these themes and more.