Dr. Brenda Gael McSweeney, Director of the BU-based UNESCO/UNITWIN Network on Gender, Culture, and People-Centered Development, had her artwork included in the most recent Unbound Visual Arts' exhibition! See more below. Compiled by Nicole Rizzo.
Dr. McSweeney's photograph titled "Village and Global Women Leaders in West Africa" emerges from an historical moment where women of Burkina Faso engaged in tending the land as a part of climate justice-focused practice.
According to McSweeney, this photograph captures at left Habibou Ouédraogo, Women's Leader in the village of Zimtenga, Kongoussi Zone, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) and at right, Scholastique Kompaoré, National Coordinator of the UNESCO Project for Equal Access of Women and Girls to Education in the 1970s. They are debating the challenges of gender injustice, including the subordination of women and girls and violence against them, lack of climate protection, and income inequality. They militated to implement programs in income-poor villages to lighten women's and girls' oppressive workloads, to ensure climate justice, and to free up time and energy for educational and lucrative activities -- against all odds. Often the men of the Project villages were persuaded to join in to help achieve these goals in the interest of community advancement and harmony. Mme. Kompaoré went on to champion gender and climate justice and inter-communal communication with the United Nations directing programs at the community level across Africa. She subsequently was President of her country's chapter of Marche Mondiale des Femmes/World March of Women that aims to eliminate discrimination and violence against women.
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| John Quatrale, UVA Executive Director Photo by Blanca Diaz |
Exhibition on Climate Equity: A Better Future For All
Organized and presented by Unbound Visual Arts and curated by Jingyi (Tina) Wang
Artists: Nancer Ballard, Mary Barton-Lech, Gwen Cory, Nancy Crasco, Samantha Fein, Elizabeth Lapides, Pauline Lim, Elisandra Lopes, Chelsea Martel-White, Michael McLaughlin, Alex Miklowski, Shelby Myerhoff, Brenda Gael McSweeney, Matthew Okazaki, Katha Seidman, Diana Stelin
Exhibit Assistants - Jessica Hernandez, Mila Roemer, Natalie Schweikhart, Shuxian Zhang
February 23 - March 31, 2023
Panel Discussion and Wine Reception - Friday March 31, 2023 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Live keyboard music by Mae Siu Wai Stroshane and refreshments
Arthaus Art Exhibit Gallery - 43 N. Beacon St., Allston, MA
Curator's Statement:
These days, most of us probably have already heard the term “climate change” a million times — we are all well aware of what it means and what things should be done to save the environment — but what about “climate equity”?
Environmental equity means both protection from environmental hazards as well as access to environmental benefits for all, regardless of income, race, and other characteristics. Climate change has affected the poorest population around the world most drastically, creating “climate refugees”. According to Mercy Corps “nearly 70% of all new displacements in the first six months of last year were the result of weather-related disasters, with a total of 9.8 million people around the world driven from their homes by shocks like drought, hurricanes, and landslides — around 50,000 people every day”, and “if sea levels continue to rise without intervention, many of those living near the ocean — about 40 percent of the world’s population — will be at risk of losing their homes”.
The good news is that many people are actively seeking a solution. For instance, the Equity Fund is investing in the leadership in Black, Latinx, AAPI, and indigenous communities bearing the brunt of climate change. By engaging voters in these communities, they are getting climate and clean energy policy solutions that reflect communities' priorities and advancing racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Here at UVA, we also want to do our parts. In “Climate Equity: A Better Future For All," we are aiming to address the long-ignored issue of climate equity, and let more people know that not everyone is provided the resources to “go green”. We want our audience to know that the environmental crisis is not only about sustainability, but also resources and power. The participating artists are lending their voices to the unheard to tell the story that has been lingering outside the public’s sight.
Some of the artworks in this exhibit:
Top row:
Brenda Gael McSweeney, Village and Global Women Leaders in West Africa
Pauline Lim, Thaddeus Bartlett’s House, Skinnerville View
Samantha Fein
Bottom row:
Katha Seidman
Michael McLaughlin
Alex Miklowski
Source for above materials: https://www.unboundvisualarts.org/climate-equity-a-better-future-for-all/
…and people generally responded well to the work. Over-building is something that resonates."
This exhibition will investigate the malleable definition of women’s work in the field, in the home, and, importantly, in the arts. While women’s participation in the labor market steadily increased in the second half of the 20th century, participation has plateaued and even slightly declined as we move through the 21st century. Further, women’s workforce labor (distinguished from domestic labor) was disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as more women lost employment than men or remained home to provide child care during school closures. These statistics and events have been met with calls for increased affordable childcare resources, emphasis on paid family leave, and initiatives to close the gender pay gap. According to U.S. Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen, via the Brookings Institute, if the obstacles of underrepresentation, unreasonable work-life balance, and pay disparities consist, we will squander the potential of our citizens and our economic growth. So where does that leave us? At this moment, where do women conceive of themselves in terms of “work” and how do we value the different conceptions of women’s work? 
Many recent exhibitions in the greater Boston area have highlighted the work of women artists as well as objects that are specifically designed for women’s work i.e. childcare and domestic chores. Between 2019 and 2021 the MFA Boston mounted the exhibition 
