Join a special IMMA Horizons celebration of International Women’s Day, as we gather to celebrate the progress and achievements of women since its inception over a 100 years ago and we continue to advocate for the advancement of women’s rights globally. This year’s theme is Accelerate Action. As we prepare to step into solidarity and collectively accelerate action towards Gender Equality, there are two important tools that we can wield; tapping into our creativity and taking care of our well-being.
We invite participants to join us on a special tour of the Take a Breath – Feminism & Ecology rooms. Be inspired as we spend some time looking closely and connecting with one of the artist’s, Khadijia Saye, photographic series, In this space we breathe. After the tour, there will be a workshop in a relaxed, convivial atmosphere, where participants will explore embodiment, breath, mindfulness and collective drawing as empowering practices of resistance.
This session is grounded in the notion of Festina Lente – Slowing down to move faster. With self-care, communication and reconnecting to self and others as the basis for social action.
No previous experience of art or embodiment required. Please wear comfortable clothes.
| Schedule | |
| 11am – 11.30am | Brief tour of Feminism & Ecology – Take a Breath |
| 11.30am – 12.15pm | Slow looking at Khadija Saye’s In this space we breathe |
| 12.15pm – 1.00pm | Tea/Coffee Break |
| 1.00pm – 3.00pm | Workshop |
Feminism & Ecology – Take a Breath
The amalgamation of Ana Mendieta’s Burial Pyramid (room 1, nos. 1-5), Marina Abramović’s Freeing the Memory (alcove 1) and Mercedes Azpilicueta’s Potatoes, Riots and Other Imaginaries (room 2, no. 2) invoke a dialogue on feminism, ecology, and our fundamental right to breathe.
Mendieta’s earth-body sculpture, with its incorporation of her female form and the symbiosis of breath with struggle and endurance, lays the foundation for this discourse. Abramović’s pursuit of mental purification through linguistic and physical exhaustion delves into the depths of consciousness, echoing the necessity of cleansing amidst ecological turmoil. Azpilicueta’s tapestry, interweaving narratives of food economies, feminist solidarity and historical resistance, resonates with the embodied struggles of women across time.
Khadija Saye’s photographic series, In this space we breathe (room 3, nos. 1-9) magnifies the healing potential of breath within the Ghanaian and African experience, entwining ancestral rituals with contemporary realities.
Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński’s Respire (Liverpool) (room 4, no. 1) amplifies the urgency of Black liberation, harnessing breath as a conduit for individual and collective empowerment.