Let Us Speak Now

Artists: Kirsten Dufour, Andrea Geyer, Group Material, Sharon Hayes, Janet Olivia Henry, Maryam Jafri, Maria Karlsson, Joyce Kozloff, Leslie Labowitz Starus, Martha Rosler, and Hale Tenger

In 2002, visual artist Kirsten Dufour (b. 1941), one of the first feminist artists in Denmark, initiated the video archive Let Us Speak Now. The project is both a video archive and an artwork addressing feminism, activism, and artistic production, based on interviews with international feminist artists. During travels and residencies—particularly in the United States—Dufour sought out feminist art communities with her video camera and a set of questions. These encounters developed into conversations that address a wide range of topics, with a primary focus on the intersection of feminism and activism.

The archive contains more than 80 interviews with key figures from the feminist art movement of the 1970s, the so-called second wave, as well as with younger generations of artists and activists working from feminist perspectives in which an intersectional approach—addressing gender in relation to race, class, and sexuality—figures prominently. The point of departure for the Let Us Speak Now archive was to investigate the feminist strategies that have developed over the years at the intersection of art and activism, and to discuss how these strategies form the foundation for the artists and their work. The archive presents an oral history of the feminist art movement from the 1970s up until 2007, when some of the final interviews were conducted. It brings together multiple generations of artists from around the world and offers insight into both the state of feminism at that time and key historical events within the movement.

HEIRLOOM has overseen the project management and coordination of the digitization of the archive, with support from Kilder til Dansk Kunsthistorie (Sources of Danish Art History) under the New Carlsberg Foundation. The project has resulted in a public, digital platform through which source material has been made accessible. Let Us Speak Now is now becoming part of this archive.

In connection with the public release of Let Us Speak Now, HEIRLOOM presents an exhibition highlighting this unique archive and artwork. The exhibition presents a selection from the archive, focusing on how practices from the feminist art movement of the 1970s resonate across displaced temporalities, connecting feminism to resistance to war, democratic participation, and the right to bodily autonomy. At the same time, the exhibition makes visible the repeated setbacks feminist agendas have faced. The exhibition includes a limited selection of works by visual artists featured in Let Us Speak Now. Some of these works are discussed in the interviews selected for the exhibition, in which the artists reflect on their creation and the necessity of making them. Other works relate more broadly to the exhibition’s thematic focal points.

Within this multifaceted archive, these practices appear as both distinct and interconnected. Listening and making space for each artist to articulate and show their practice was Kirsten Dufour’s guiding principle when interviewing other artists about their work—a feminist practice in itself. There is still a struggle to be fought for equality, and with this exhibition, HEIRLOOM seeks to create space for discussion and exchange around what feminism set in motion and how we move forward from here.

The exhibition is curated in collaboration with visual artist Pia Rönicke, who has archived Let Us Speak Now.

HEIRLOOM — center for art and archives is a non-profit arts organization in Copenhagen dedicated to exhibiting and initiating projects with a focus on the artistic archive. HEIRLOOM is concerned with exploring artistic legacy and overlooked collections in dialogue with contemporary art. The program pays special attention to ephemeral practices and discussions around gender, identity and transnational exchanges. It is Heirloom's ambition to revisit and contextualize art practices through new curatorial concepts and formats. The organization is physically located in Copenhagen but operates internationally.

The exhibition is supported by The Aage & Johanne Louis-Hansen’s Foundation, The Augustinus Foundation, The Beckett Foundation, The Danish Art Council, Knud Højgaard's Foundation, and New Carlsberg Foundation.