Feminism. An empowering word that often encompasses a lot of misconceptions.

After visiting Museum Voorlinden, I was intrigued by the pieces of Louise Bourgeois. Although not being able to interpret the meaning behind her artwork at the spot, the message that her work conveys is so powerful and strong. Feeling something has been switched on, I decided to embark on a journey of delving into her artwork and her life.

Among the various themes observed from her artwork, the one that resonated with me the most was the underlying psychological themes that hugely shaped her childhood, largely based on the way she was treated by her father–with love and care but accompanied by humiliation and teasing due to her gender.

From there, I decided to research more feminist artists.

With the help of Ms. Melnick, I was able to find some more modern works that showcase feminism (and of course, the need for it) in our generation. Some examples include Instagram accounts such as @sareytales and @whyikeptquiet. The first one is an account that amplifies the issue with sexism observed in online dating, whereas the second one is a moment where media such as posters are used to tell stories of anonymous victims of sexual assault, abuse, harassment, and more.

Although the research here seems minimal, the variety of feminism in media offered me a lot of inspiration and insights. It is a starting point for me to brainstorm what type of work do I want to present and how. For instance, from the #whyikeptquiet campaign, a possible approach would be sending out a survey to collect anonymous responses of people’s experiences with gender expectations, gender norms, sexism, etc.

By being one of the members who helped out in Spectrum’s #IDontLikeItWhen campaign last year, I realized the power of campaigns and how impactful engagement could be. As I have started discussing possibilities of events/exhibitions with the Z club execs, I am currently doing more research in ways to combine engagement and art exhibitions.