May 19, 2022, 6pm
The Print Center, Philadelphia, presents a virtual conversation between Carmen Winant and Donna Ferrato, renowned, photo-based feminist artists working to image domestic violence. Presented on Zoom May 19, 2022 at 6pm EDT; registration is required.
This program foregrounds Ferrato’s work as a pioneer in the photographic depiction of domestic violence and its survival, reflecting upon it through the larger lenses of feminism and photography today.
In their practices, both Ferrato and Winant explore alternatives to patriarchal modes of image-making related to violence against women. Winant’s hallmark practice of creating collages and installations draws on intensive archival research and uses found photography to explore representations of women’s experiences. Ferrato’s highly personal, uncensored black and white documentary photographs bring viewers into hidden and intimate worlds. Both are committed to revealing the fullness of women’s lives, from abuse to pleasure. In conversation, the two will discuss the problems and possibilities of picturing abuse against women.
Ferrato, who has lived in New York City since the mid-1990s, is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist well-known for her groundbreaking documentation of domestic violence. Her seminal book Living With the Enemy (Aperture, 1991) sparked a national discussion on sexual violence and women’s rights. In 2014, Ferrato launched the I Am Unbeatable campaign to expose, document and prevent domestic violence against women and children through real stories of real people. Her new book, Holy, (powerHouse Books, 2021) is a call to action. It proclaims the sacredness of women’s rights and their power to be masters of their own destiny.
Winant is a prominent photography-based artist who was raised in Philadelphia and lives in Columbus, OH. She utilizes installation and collage strategies to examine feminist modes of survival and revolt. Winant is the Roy Lichtenstein Chair of Studio Art in the Department of Art at The Ohio State University. She was a 2019 Guggenheim fellow in photography and has exhibited her work widely, including at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2019, Winant mounted 26 billboards across Canada as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Her recent artist books include My Birth (SPBH Editions and Image Text Ithaca Press, 2018), Notes on Fundamental Joy (Printed Matter Inc., 2019) and Instructional Photography: Learning How to Live Now (Self Publish Be Happy, 2022).
This program is presented in conjunction with Winant’s major exhibition A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures, at The Print Center. Through an expansive consideration of image making, domestic violence and the feminist movement, Winant illuminates the often-invisible experiences of women, as well as feminist strategies for survival, revolt, self-determination and achieving personal agency. Developed through intensive research, this unique collaboration between an artist and social service organizations probes the problems and possibilities of picturing domestic violence. Winant’s project highlights the power of print in representing how women view themselves and how photography can serve as a tool in the struggle for individual autonomy and self-representation. These newly commissioned works incorporate archival materials from Women In Transition and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures is organized by Ksenia Nouril, PhD, The Print Center’s Jensen Bryan Curator. The project has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and is on view through July 16, 2022.
Additional programs
WAVE empowerment self-defense class: led by Women in Transition, they will discuss and teach various components of self-defense. Presented on Zoom.
Exhibition tours: In-person, guided exhibition tour at The Print Center with the curator. Registration required.
