Africa House is delighted to support UN Women and 'A Force for Change'
Art Exhibition: July 27-31, 2021
Art Auction: July 16-30, 2021, closing at 2pm EDT
Art Auction: https://www.artsy.net/auction/a-force-for-change-un-women-benefit-auction-2021
UN Women, the agency of the United Nations dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, will host the first all-Black, all-women global selling exhibition and auction titled “A Force for Change”, with proceeds benefiting Black women across the world and the participating artists.
Open to the public 27–31 July 2021 at 530 W 25th Street, New York, NY 10001, the exhibition includes 26 works by prominent and emerging female artists of African descent to recognize and elevate awareness of the transformative power of Black women’s art in social justice movements, and to support UN Women’s nascent global Black Women’s Programme. Works by artists Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, Tschabalala Self, Sungi Mlengeya, Wangari Mathenge, Zanele Muholi, and Selly Rabe Kane are included, among many others. The exhibition will be accompanied by online discussions on the role of artists in social justice movements and Black Women and the Art Market.
Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, “Self-sureness”, 2021. Mixed media on stretched canvas, 84cm x 118cm.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, said: “Racial justice and gender inequality are not separate but integrally linked—and UN Women’s work prioritizes both. Through the global Black Women Programme, and this exhibition that will raise funding for that work, we will support Black women’s movements and organizations in different parts of the world to foster closer ties and give greater power to their voice and actions.”
Works in the exhibition are offered for sale on Artsy, the largest global online art marketplace, from 16 July to 30 July 2021, with the auction ending at 2pm EDT on 30 July 2021. Fifty per cent of the proceeds will go toward launching UN Women’s nascent global Black Women Programme, designed to connect women of African descent in Africa and the Diaspora through comprehensive programming around economic empowerment in the creative industries; connect women’s movements across the Diaspora to strengthen their voices, action, and impact; and address violence against women.
As a deliberate effort to raise awareness of the global gender pay gap and the value of women’s work, the other 50 per cent will go directly to the artist. Furthermore, to protect the artists, buyers will pledge not to sell the work for at least five years; give artists the right of first refusal on resale; and give artists 15 per cent of the sale price if works are sold.
Tonni Ann Brodber, UN Women Caribbean Multi-Country Office Representative, said: “Our ambition for a global programme on race and gender is firmly grounded in the arts. Our office in Barbados has for some time been working with musicians, understanding that their expression and reach are important avenues for changing norms and stereotypes. Creatives, in all their diversity, these are the ones leading the way.”
Wangari Mathenge, “The Ascendants XII (And Still I Rise)”, 2021. Oil on canvas, 163cm x 159cm.
Erin Jenoa Gilbert, Curator and Art Advisor, added: “Though the abstract and figurative works presented in this exhibition were composed by women of great linguistic and aesthetic diversity, their works are statements of survival and of solidarity. Subversively challenging the status quo, these images symbolically connect the concurrent civil and human rights movements in Africa, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Europe, and the United States. This exhibition simultaneously offers a glimpse into the past and the future as reimagined by women of African descent. The empowered images of women, presented by the artists in this exhibition, evidence the influence of intersectionality and the inextricable ties between women across the African diaspora.”
“A Force for Change” is intergenerational, international, and interdisciplinary. Born between 1935 and 1997, the artists in this exhibition currently live and work in South Africa, Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Brazil, Somalia, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Presenting nuanced counter-narratives to the mainstream media’s presentation of women of African descent, the exhibition includes photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, and film in which the central character is the Black woman.
The exhibition includes works by the following artists:
Tschabalala Self (b. 1990), USA
Akosua Adoma Owusu (b. 1984), Ghana/USA
Andrea Chung (b. 1978), Jamaica
Phoebe Boswell (b. 1982), Kenya/UK
Wura Natasha Ogunji (b. 1970), Nigeria/USA
Sungi Mlengeya (b. 1991), Tanzania
Shinique Smith (b. 1971), USA
Deborah Roberts (b. 1962), USA
Rosana Paulino (b. 1967), Brazil
Janaina Barros, Brazil
Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi (b. 1980), South Africa
Zohra Opoku (b. 1976), Ghana
Esther Mahlangu (b. 1935), South Africa
Ayan Farah (b. 1978), Somalia
Nandipha Mntambo (b. 1982), South Africa
Selly Raby Kane, Senegal
Zina Saro Wiwa (b. 1976), Nigeria
Wangari Mathenge (b. 1973), Kenya
Virginia Chihota (b. 1983), Zimbabwe
Cinthia Sifa Mulanga (b. 1997), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Yelaine Rodriguez, Dominican Republic
Cassi Namoda (b. 1988), Mozambique
Sheena Rose (b. 1985), Barbados
Joiri Minaya (b. 1990), Dominican Republic
Joana Choumali (b. 1974), Ivory Coast
Zanele Muholi (b. 1974), South Africa
About UN Women
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to develop and uphold standards and create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential.
UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes, and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:
Women lead, participate in, and benefit equally from governance systems.
Women have income security, decent work, and economic autonomy.
All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence.
Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action.
UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.
To learn more about UN Women, please visit: https://www.unwomen.org.