October 2019
Down / Under Space, Sydney

Still We Rise

Reclaim The Night Sydney Annual Fundraiser | Art Party + Exhibition

‘You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.’

Maya Angelou

Reclaim the Night is an annual, international event which actively campaigns against all forms of violence against women. Traditionally, Sydney’s Reclaim the Night takes the form of a rally/march where the public hit the streets and join together to take a stand against gendered violence.

Curated by Sarah Rose & Mia Carey, Still We Rise was based on the poem by Maya Angelou and was the official Reclaim the Night Sydney 2019 annual fundraiser. The art party and exhibition was an active celebration of resistance, empowerment and feminism, showcasing a line-up of local women and non-binary artists, DJs, and performers. The exhibition featured a diverse range of works, exploring themes such as the politicised body, womanhood, gnited in the works were themes of the

Facilitated by the curators was a participatory work, in which visitors were invited to write a message on a piece of fabric and sew it to to one another, constructing a banner to be featured at the March. Messages were encouraged to be of strength, liberation, unity, and the collective fight against gendered violence. Some were of stories and experiences, others were advice for younger readers.

More Than Reproduction was the official partner of the event. More Than Reproduction was founded by Sarah Rose, Millie Mitchell & Jennifer Brady, and is a printmaking collective of Sydney-based emerging creatives, aiming to celebrate and promote women and gender-fluid artists, curators and practitioners.

Still We Rise perfectly aligned with the collective’s ethos of art as a form of advocacy. To demonstrate our support, More Than Reproduction raised money for the rally by hosting a live screen-printing station in the gallery space. Visitors were able to have a t-shirt printed with a collaborative More Than Reproduction X Reclaim The Night design, to wear at the rally in November 2019. Shout out to JAH (AKA Judith Harvey) who screen-printed the shirts on the night.

@reclaimthenightsydney | Rebuild | Resist | Revolt