As the mad December rush intensifies, here are a few winter highlights and delights to keep the feminist flame burning bright …
From the River to the Sea
This year, the world reached shocking new lows. We continue bearing witness to the daily holocaust in Palestine and a conflict that is intensifying across the region, whilst the situation in Sudan, DRC/Congo, Haiti - to name but three - further deteriorates ... all of it driven by the insatiable capitalist, imperialist/colonialist ogre of a system we live in.
This context alone makes the P21 Gallery ‘Art Of Palestine’ exhibition essential viewing. A combination of thoughtful and joyful, punctuated by many painful, reminders of the Palestinian reality, since the 1948 Nakba, it features work of acclaimed artists, such as Samia Halaby, the pioneering visual artist, whose work is included in Tate Modern’s* new exhibition, Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet, and younger artists, some of them currently living in Gaza.
The beauty of Palestine’s rich culture and history interwoven with the struggle for liberation and the resilience of its people is perfectly encapsulated in the portrait of a lady with a punnet of fresh figs whose smiling eyes seem to be filled with infinite tears. ‘Art of Palestine’ will fill you with wonder at the delightful art, leave you heavy hearted, yet hopeful that Palestine will be free … and give you an opportunity to stock up on gifts that support Palestinians.
The gallery is on the edge of Somers town and the exhibition ends on 21 December 2024.
Nearest independent bookshop: Housmans.
* The Tate is amongst many organisations to have come under fire from Palestine solidarity campaigners, in particular around institutional divestment from ties to Israel. Earlier this month, artist Jasleen Kaur was named the 2024 Turner Prize winner and gave a passionate pro-Palestine acceptance speech.
Trans Youth Matter
The war on trans rights took another bitter twist last week when MPs voted for an indefinite ban on puberty blockers. This is a small but significant victory for transphobes, who, like the anti-abortion lobby, operate by spreading lies and confusion. The reality is that very few children are prescribed puberty blockers, but somehow, based on the recommendations of a single, heavily criticised report - the Cass Review on NHS gender services, 2023 - National Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, is taking it upon himself to further marginalise trans youth. This tells you everything you need to know about the current government’s attacks on minoritised communities and their desire to pander to daily haters - aka Daily Mail readers.
Once again, the art world provides a welcome antidote. Teresa Margolles’ Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant), the monolithic sculpture, currently gracing Trafalgar Square’s 4th plinth. It is made of plaster casts, that were directly applied to the faces of 726 transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming people from Mexico, where Margolles is from, and the UK, and is inspired by the Mesoamerican ‘tzompantli’ – skull rack. The monument is a collective call to action against the extensive violence faced by transgender people – many of those who are part in the project are also sex workers and face double the discrimination.
But there is more to it. The plaster casts will gradually deteriorate as a result of their exposure to the elements and somehow transform into an anti-monument, reflecting the natural process of decomposition.
On the same theme, there is still time to see Zanele Muholi’s exhibition at Tate Modern (ends 26th January 2025). Don’t miss it.
Specialist Bookshop and safe space: Gay’s the Word
Sex Work is Work
17th December marks international day to End Violence Against Sex Workers – an issue that receives far too little attention. Violence can take many forms – not least police violence – and is well documented by sex workers’ rights organisations. The English Collective of Prostitutes’ latest report, Proceed Without Caution, outlines how the law punishes sex workers and renews calls for decriminalising sex work.
“In 2003, New Zealand decriminalised with verifiable success. Over 90% of sex workers said they had additional employment, legal, health and safety rights, and 64.8% found it easier to refuse clients and 70% said they were more likely to report incidents of violence to the police.”
.... and more BOOKS!
But here is some good news, the new radical independent bookshop centring sex workers and marginalised communities, The Scarlett Letters, is now OPEN. Find out more about it in my recent blog and get down there!
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