Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism is a group exhibition inspired by four decades of ecofeminist thought and action in art. Ecofeminism is a theoretical and activist movement that locates critical connections between gender oppression and the exploitation of natural resources. In the U.S., it developed from the environmental, anti-nuclear, and feminist movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s; in addition to their primary concerns around the subordination of nature and women, ecofeminists sought to resist racism, homophobia, and the capitalist patriarchy. As quickly as the movement gathered steam, artists began adopting an ecofeminist position, producing ambitious and often site-specific work that addressed the systemic subjection of women and the environment.
Using ecofeminism as both a lens and departure point, works in this exhibition will address themes including social ecologies, the commons, indigenous cosmologies, lesbian separatism, witchcraft, hydrofeminism, plant knowledge, science fiction, and speculative futures, among other threads. The exhibition will be accompanied by a scholarly publication and a robust series of related events. The project will travel to West Den Haag in the Hauge, the Netherlands in 2025.
Participating artists: Alliance of the Southern Triangle (A.S.T.), Alicia Barney Caldas, Meech Boakye, Carolina Caycedo, Francesca Gabbiani, Masumi Hayashi, Institute of Queer Ecology, Kite, Leslie Labowitz Starus, Maria Maea, Otobong Nkanga, yétúndé olagbaju, Alicia Piller, Aviva Rahmani, Tabita Rezaire, Yo-E Ryou, Emilija Škarnulytė, and A.L. Steiner.
Life on Earth is among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. Returning in September 2024 with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, this landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art
Lead support for Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism is provided by Getty and PST Art: Art & Science Collide, with additional generous support by The Margaret Morgan and Wesley Phoa Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Knox Foundation, the Teiger Foundation, and the Wilhelm Family Foundation.
Organized by Catherine Taft.
