Women's Rights are Human Rights Exhibit

Both a virtual and in-person exhibition -- which took place from October 7th to November 18th in the Reynolds Gallery -- “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” is an affluent exhibit that touches on different issues that intersect with gender, namely, the issues of inequality, violence, and discrimination.

The exhibit was curated by Elizabeth Resnick; Resnick has both a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. 

Resnick is a Professor Emerita of Graphic Design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. 

Resnick’s exhibit has made its way throughout many countries in the world: Taiwan, Greece, South Korea, Poland, and Spain, just to name a few. And, of course, this is with good reason. 

“Women’s Rights are Human Rights” consists of 100 posters from varying artists. The artists presented in the exhibit are both women and men. This falls hand-in-hand with the critical importance of allyship in obtaining equal rights for women. Recently, the conversation of male allyship -- and allyship in general -- has been a subject of large discourse. It is critical to see this materialized in the form of art. 

Such a feat can be seen in the piece “Equality” by Elmer Sosa. This piece depicts the silhouette of man and woman conjoined: both literally and figuratively making strides together. 

Another piece, “Let’s Protect Women from Sexual Violence” by Takayuki Kuribayashi is self-explanatory. Allies can do a far better job at protecting women from sexual violence; too many times has it been seen that possible allies -- who hold comparatively more clout in the conversation and even in instances of assault that is right in front of them -- do not protect women. 

“He Said He Loved Me” by Moises Romero Vargas once again contains a literal and figurative manifestation of women being stepped on by men. The poster shows a man stepping on the toes of a woman on her tip-toes -- but to no avail. The woman’s efforts are constrained from once again, the figurative and literal representation of a man stepping on her. 

The words “He Said He Loved Me” sit at the bottom of the piece indicating that the artist is trying to depict the painful relation between men who are close to women; it is often those in close proximity to women that cause the largest discrepancies in social mobility.

The aforementioned theme is not the only theme that runs through the pieces. Also seen are themes of civic participation, destigmatization of women’s bodies, the impact of abuse