2nd Saturday Nov 2024: Huq: I Seek No Favor

Huq: I Seek No Favor* brings together the select voices of over 100 artists, writers, and thinkers in a collective response to the abortion ban. Overcome with anger and disbelief in the wake of this decision, artist and curator Ashima Yadava took inspiration from Chilean poet Cecilia Vicuña’s declaration “Tu rabia es tu oro” - your rage is your gold. Yadava divided the 213-page Dobbs opinion into 50 sections and assigned each section to one of a diverse group of 50 artists, who then created something entirely new from the pages they were given. In 2023, their works appeared in a special-edition publication, also titled Huq: I Seek No Favor, that marked the beginning of a dialogue—one that calls for ongoing resistance and empowerment in the face of a system that perpetuates historical inequities and seeks to use women’s bodies as a tool of their own oppression.

This exhibition continues that dialogue. Rooted in defiance and multicultural solidarity, Huq: I Seek No Favor features selections from the original 50 works, as well as new contributions from subsequent collaborators and pieces created by members of the public. The included works reflect and embody the experiences of those most impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. This is artwork that speaks back to power and demands to be heard. Huq: I Seek No Favor positions art as a medium of collective resistance and encourages direct engagement with urgent social issues. 

*Huq is an Urdu word meaning “rights,” and the phrase “I seek no favor” is taken from Audre Lorde’s poem “A Woman Speaks.”