RESIST: A Protest Against Delhi Gang-Rape Through Arts on Feb. 2

Report by Santanu Ganguly, New Delhi: A temporal art intervention and protest illustrating conscience and dissent against gender based violence and injustice through performance, graffiti, site specific installations, new media, protest music and fashion.

WHY?

"Art is the only permanent Resistance" - Anonymous

The recent brutalization of a young student in New Delhi, has brought to the forefront, once again the existing violence & misogyny prevalent against women and other gendered bodies and identities across the nation. Globally, sexism, and incidents of gender violence continue to prevail.

At Engendered, we believe that art is vital to the dimension of culture and an understanding of its importance alongside political, economical and social forces in movements and acts of social change. Art can be significant in challenging and complicating the traditional boundaries and hierarchies of culture as represented by those in power.

RESIST is a call for art to be connected to its own community. RESIST will feature work that builds around the idea that "the personal is the political", that is, the notion that personal revelation through art can be a political tool. Using both alternative-underground and mainstream art-work - from new media installations, graffiti and site specific works to Punjabi Rap and hip-hop and even high fashion couture, RESIST will reveal, subvert and expand aesthetic boundaries. It will also critique notions of the 'art object' and the commodity system within which it is circulated as currency.

RESIST is planned as an afternoon and evening of live performances, art and fashion installations that registers the artist's voice creativity towards a collective protest. Starting on February 1 at Engendered's alternative gallery and space in Shahpur Jat New Delhi. The protest will be spread across four floors: a rented derelict abandoned gallery floor on the verge of re-construction, the Engendered Gallery, Residency space and the Roof Top.

HOW?

* Art installations and Graffiti Art by leading contemporary artists like Mithu Sen, Gigi Scaria, Anjolie Ela Menon, Arpana Kaur, Ram Rahman, Satyakama Saha, Sharmistha Ray, Saba Hasan, Meenakshi Sengupta, Ritu Kamath, Balbir Krishan, Daku among others.

* Live performances by contemporary alternative punk, rap and folk Rock protest bands like SPACE, Alisha Batth, and Desi Head Quarterz.

* Curated fashion installations that celebrate expressions of desire, passion and resistance to gender dichotomies, and reinforces choice and sexuality in South Asia. Featuring leading contemporary designers like designers Manish Arora, Tarun Tahliani, Anju Modi, Gauri & Nayanika and Satya Paul among others.

* As part of this protest, we invite the art community -artists, curators, gallerists to respond to this injustice through their creativity and effect social change by participating in the Living Wall of Solidarity & Resistance. There will be a hundred 1x1 canvases where artists are welcome to register their protest in their own way.Artists may start collecting the canvases from us from Feb 1, and send in their contribution to the Wall till Feb 14. Alternatively, artists may also send in their work which is of 1x1 size for the Wall of Resistance. We will unveil the Wall of Resistance on Feb 14 to mark the International Day of Action on Violence Against Women. This a completely non-commercial event and the artists may take their canvases back with them once the installation is taken down at the end of the month.

WITH

Participating Artists:

MITHU SEN. GIGI SCARIA. ANJOLIE ELA MENON. ARPANA KAUR. RAM RAHMAN. SHARMISTHA RAY. RITU KAMATH. SABA HASAN. ANIL BAKSHI. SATYAKAM SAHA. BALBIR KRISHAN. MEENAKSHI SENGUPTA. DAKU. RAQS MEDIA COLLECTIVE,

Designers:

TARUN TAHLIANI, MANISH ARORA, ANJU MODI, GAURI & NAYANIKA, SATYA PAUL,

Live Bands:

SPACE, ALISHA BATTH, DESI HEAD QUARTERZ

Fashion Co-curation: Mohnish Malhotra, Administration & Logistics: Abhishek Ranjan Dutta, Artist Outreach: Georgina Maddox, Conceived by: Myna Mukherjee

PROMOTIONAL & MATERIAL PARTNERS: Take on Art Magazine, Silver Monkey Communications, Niv Art Gallery, Bookwise

Date & Time: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, 7 pm

Venue: Gallery Engendered SPACE
IInd Flr, 125 A
Shahpurjat,
New Delhi, India.