Gender-based violence undermines the health, dignity, security, and autonomy of its victims, yet in many parts of the world it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. Combining the local term for northern Nigeria (Arewa), and the global hashtag-turned-social-movement against sexual violence (#MeToo), Arewa, Me Too is an exhibition highlighting the gravity of domestic and gender-based violence in this region. Featuring photography, painting, and film by Nigerian women artists, the exhibition dialogues with current realities and examines the future of a generation threatened by policies that restrict freedom.
Martha Panshak Dasat's photography series is a symbolic representation of gendered violence and repression (genital mutilation, forced marriage, child marriage), its intersection with culture, and its physical and psychological effects on women and girls. Maryam Umar Maigida's paintings challenge stereotypes about women, especially the notions that certain trades are for men only, and that women who venture into them are bound to fail. Halima Abubakar's photographs revise the perception of the role and contributions of women in society. Judith Daduut's short film, Rufe Kai, which is translated as "cover up," is a unique exploration of bodies and textiles that counters the idea that clothing has anything to do with assault.
Martha Panshak Dasat's photography series is a symbolic representation of gendered violence and repression (genital mutilation, forced marriage, child marriage), its intersection with culture, and its physical and psychological effects on women and girls. Maryam Umar Maigida's paintings challenge stereotypes about women, especially the notions that certain trades are for men only, and that women who venture into them are bound to fail. Halima Abubakar's photographs revise the perception of the role and contributions of women in society. Judith Daduut's short film, Rufe Kai, which is translated as "cover up," is a unique exploration of bodies and textiles that counters the idea that clothing has anything to do with assault.
Favour Ritaro is a Nigerian curator based in Lagos, Nigeria. A 2019 fellow and member of the Association of Art Museum Curators in New York, her research and curatorial practice takes a critical view of issues surrounding identity representation and nationhood, gender and sexuality.
Special thanks to the Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation for use of the exhibition space.
Special thanks to the Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation for use of the exhibition space.