CHICAGO—Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is proud to present “Woman Life Freedom,” an exhibition juried by Shahrbanoo Hamzeh and on display from May 6 to June 3, 2023.
“Woman Life Freedom” is a slogan that the women of Iran are chanting on the streets in an unfair war with the current gender apartheid regime to regain their basic human rights and bodily autonomy. Beginning on September 16, 2022, with Mahsa Amini’s unjust death, Iranian people have been shedding blood, sweat, and tears while protesting in the streets for freedom.
This exhibition is centered on women’s rights and includes works in various media by 43 women and nonbinary artists who responded to a call for art in addition to photography and video contributions by 18 Iranian artists who were invited to participate in the show. We at WMG are standing in solidarity with the brave Iranian women who are putting their lives on the line for freedom. The fight for women’s rights everywhere will not end until each and every one of us is free. “Woman Life Freedom” brings together information, conversation, and visual elements surrounding the struggle for human rights. With this exhibition, we are hoping to elevate and add to the Iranian women’s voices.
About the Juror: Shahrbanoo Hamzeh
Shahrbanoo Hamzeh is a studio artist and curator currently working as a galley coordinator at Joe McCauley Gallery at Heartland Community College in Normal, IL. She holds an MFA from Illinois State University. Prior to this, she received a master’s degree in Painting from Alzahra University in Tehran, Iran. She earned her Undergraduate degree focused on Iranian Art and Culture from Kashan University in Kashan, Iran.
Hamzeh’s practice is mostly focused on human rights violations in her home country of Iran, especially toward women. She believes it is not easy to be an Iranian woman, in Iran or anywhere else. Her homeland is facing a myriad of problems and conflicts, which is why her works are focused on the ideas of home, home country, leaving, loss, safety, longing, and, recently, the Iranian women-led revolution. https://shahrbanoohamzeh.com/
Woman Life Freedom Curatorial Statement
Exhibiting Artists: Audineh Asaf, Nooreen Baig, Raissa Bailey, Jenny E. Balisle, Linda Behar, Colby Parker Beutel, Sadie Bridger, Leigh Brooklyn, Aubrey-Anne Davis, Meaghan A. Dee, Paola Fiterre, Sajidah Fulani, Teresa Greve Wolf, Carol Hayman, Mary Hazboun, Kiana Honarmand, Natalie Jackson, Beatriz Ledesma, Rachel Linnemann, Kelly Marshall, Angela A. McElwain, Dilara Miller, Amy L Misurelli Sorensen, Shabnam Modjarrad, Norah Mohammad Fahad Al-Qahtani, Laleh Motlagh, Szandra None, Laura O’Connor, Barbie Perry, Linda Plaisted, Helia Pouyanfar, Celeste Seitz, Jessica Self Sajidah, Megan Sinclair, Rebekah Stoneberg, Alexandra Tahereh Kaucher, Salma Taman, Kim Triedman, Lara Vaienti, Chiara Vincenzi, Nara Vulvgang Walker, Karina Walter, Eldarin J. Yeong, and Elmira Yousefi.
(Image: artwork by Kiana Honarmand)
Woman Life Freedom Press Release
Gallery Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 12–5 PM CST | WMG is closed between exhibitions.
Woman Made Gallery is supported in part by grants from The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Illinois Arts Council Agency; the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. the Puffin Foundation, a major anonymous donor; and the generosity of its members and contributors.
