BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY): Mapping out a Cross Country Exhibition
Project for empty space takes the Show on the Road
Digital mockup of BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY). Photo courtesy of Project for Empty Space.
Body Freedom for Every(Body) is part traveling art exhibition and part exercise in social discourse, and is the work of the non-profit arts-based organization Project for Empty Space to merge art and action on hyper local community levels in the midst of an election year. Body Freedom for Every(Body) is also an exploration of the reach of modern mobility as a 27-foot medium duty box truck will set out on a cross-country road trip to visit over a dozen American cities this fall.
At planned stops, the truck doors will swing open to reveal its contents — works by over 200 artists. While parked, the cargo bay will be transformed into a gallery space, and will become a focal point for communities to gather, watch performances, and engage in conversations about body autonomy and reproductive freedom. Project for Empty Space (PES) will work with local communities on the route to curate programming and topics that are site specific to the region. A digital component will capture reflections from visitors of the exhibition and archival imagery of the works on view documented throughout the road trip.
“The best way to bring arts and community to people is to physically bring it to them.”
“The best way to bring arts and community to people is to physically bring it to them,” says Jasmine Wahi, Project for Empty Space Co-Founder and Co-Director. Project for Empty Space is based in Newark, New Jersey and New York City.
Photos courtesy of Project for Empty Space.
Themes that address reproductive justice, queer liberation, and trans joy are at the center of the works that will be featured in the show. The traveling tour is the genesis of PES’s exhibition series Abortion is Normal first staged in 2019, and featured works by dozen of artists including Barbara Kruger, Marilyn Minter, Laurie Simmons, Cindy Sherman, Wangechi Mutu, Catherine Opie, and Cecily Brown.
The desire to build upon this foundation has taken on a new level of urgency since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2021, Wahi says. So far artists David Antonio Cruz, Amaryllis R. Flowers, Eric Hart Jr. and Minter have been announced as featured artists in Body Freedom For Every(Body). In March the organization showcased projections of digital works during SXSW in Austin, Texas, where abortion is now illegal and gender-affirming care is in peril.
PES has acquired a truck that is temperature controlled — it was formerly used for art handling. The organizers are raising additional funds to cover the costs of the initiative via a Kickstarter campaign that launched this week at the organization’s Badass Art Woman Awards. Funds will support modifications of the truck, promotion, and the team who will drive and travel with the truck.
Several of the states that the exhibition will visit have propositions on the ballot aimed to limit access to reproductive care and place restrictions on LGBTQIA, trans, and nonbinary communities. “People are setting up caravans across state lines to get very basic healthcare,” Wahi says. “We’re in this time where people are being physically restricted.” By taking it on the road, the organization intends to push back against boundaries. “Our ability to move is a parallel to those experiences.”