Still I Rise

Act 1: October 27, 2018–January 27, 2019, Nottingham Contemporary
Act 2: February 9–May 27, 2019, De La Warr Pavilion 

Still I Rise explores the history of resistance and alternative forms of living from the perspective of gender. With over 100 exhibits by some 50 practitioners, accompanied by a programme of performances, talks, education and a publication, Still I Rise looks at resistance globally, from intimate acts to large-scale uprisings, from the late 19th century to the present and beyond. Grounded in intersectional queer and feminist thinking, the project discards linear models of progress in order to connect a multiplicity of voices across space and time.

Still I Rise considers a number of key historic moments, including the Paris Commune, the Civil Rights Movement, resistance against dictatorships in Latin America, anti-colonial struggles in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Women’s Liberation Movement, the AIDS crisis and the Stonewall Rebellion. It refers to recent womxn-led uprisings, including mass protests in Argentina, and the pivotal role womxn played in the formation of Black Lives Matter. 

At Nottingham Contemporary, the first gallery proposes grassroots resistance as an attempt to re-write history, laws and policies. Gallery two considers the reinvention of social constructs of gender, race and sexuality as resistance; gallery three focuses on land, the built environment and the commons; while gallery four is a space for broadcast, public protest and declarations. 

Still I Rise features new commissions alongside works rarely seen in the UK. Carolina Caycedo presents a new drawing depicting over 100 ecological activist womxn killed due to their work; Ad Minoliti continues her exploration of cyborgs as non-binary beings; and Osias Yanov conceived a large-scale “queer talisman” specially for the exhibition. Coinciding with the centenary of women’s suffrage in the UK, Still I Rise presents banners by Mary Lowndes, who established The Artists’ Suffrage League in 1907. Designed by f-architecture collaborative, the exhibition also includes a forum space, a zine library, a reading area and screening space.

Still I Rise includes performances by Barby Asante, Tai Shani, and Okwui Okpokwasili.

On January 18–20, 2019, a three-day gathering titled “Who Must Be Free Themselves Must Strike the Blow” will close Act I of Still I Rise. Multiple voices will question the production of feminist discourse, resistance strategies, gender abolition and more.

The publication, designed by OOMK, acts as a reconfigurable reader, archive and extension of the exhibition. It includes texts by Denise Ferreira da Silva, Övül Durmuşoğlu, Fanny Söderbäck, Jane Rendell, and Liz Mputu, among others.

Exhibiting artists and collectives include: Amina Ahmed, Barby Asante, Alice Constance Austin, Xenobia Bailey, Glenn Belverio (Glennda Orgasm), Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz, Carolina Caycedo, Judy Chicago, Phyllis Christopher, Jackie Collins and Pat Garrett, Blondell Cummings, Feminist Land Art Retreat, Guo Fengyi, Jeneen Frei Njootli, Chiara Fumai, Eduardo Gil, Anna Halprin, Margaret Harrison, Jesse Jones, Hayv Kahraman, Corita Kent, Donna Kukama, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz Starus, Ellen Lesperance, Zoe Leonard, Mary Lowndes, Alex Martinis Roe, Ana Mendieta, Louise Michel, Ad Minoliti, Senga Nengudi, Ni Una Menos, Okwui Okpokwasili, 0rphan Drift, Bruno Pelassy, Faith Ringgold, Lala Rukh, Zorka Ságlová, Victoria Santa Cruz, See Red Women’s Workshop, Tai Shani, Pamela Singh, Terence Smith (Joan Jett Blakk), Linda Stupart, Ramaya Tegegne, Jala Wahid, Faith Wilding, Osías Yanov.

Still I Rise is a collaboration between Nottingham Contemporary and the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. It has been curated by Irene Aristizábal (Nottingham Contemporary), Rosie Cooper (De La Warr Pavilion) and Cédric Fauq (Nottingham Contemporary) with the support of Phoebe Cripps, Emma Gamble, Effy Harle, DaeNyce’ Rabain, Abi Spinks, and Ben Urban.

The events programme at Nottingham Contemporary has been curated in collaboration with Alba Colomo, Carolina Rito and Mercè Santos. Learning activities at Nottingham Contemporary conceived by Gillian Brent, Katy Culbart, Lisa Jacques, Natelle Morgan-Brown, Raluca Moraru, Wingshan Smith and Amanda Spruyt.

Exhibition Circle: Belmacz, Catherine Petitgas, Young Collectors Collective, Camel Assembly.