On Saturday, October 22, 2022 at the Guggenheim in NYC, a group calling themselves the Anonymous Artist Collective took over the Guggenheim Museum with an amazing intervention in support of the ongoing protests in Iran. As artist Shirin Neshat wrote on her IG yesterday, "Proud of a few brave Iranian artists make a surprise protest by hanging this beautiful display today, they are the conscience of the sleepy art world who cares little for Iranian women fighting for basic human rights and freedom." Below is text sent to us from the AAC in conjunction with the protest.
This homage is a call for action to support the current revolution in Iran, led by brave Iranian women risking their lives to stand up against oppression to overthrow a longtime authoritarian regime.
The flame of this revolution ignited after a young Kurdish Iranian woman named Jina Mahsa Amini got killed by the Iranian government for showing hair underneath her headscarf.
Zan zendegi azadi! Woman, life, freedom! This Kurdish chant has become a rallying manifesto — shouted across the world in Kurdish, Persian, English, and dozens of other languages.
The movement started in Jina’s hometown and has since spread like wildfire across the nation and beyond. It is now a global call for us to take a leap forward towards gender equality and universal liberation.
The people of Iran are subjected to horrific violence and brutality on a daily basis.
With restricted internet access and minimal or false coverage by western media, it is time to see them and hear them by shedding light on their fearless fight against a totalitarian system. Dismantling women’s rights is a global challenge, an issue we unfortunately face whether here in the west or in the Middle East. Mahsa will never be forgotten and the cruel injustice done to the women of Iran can no longer be ignored.
Their fight for freedom is all of our fight.
Amplify their stories of courage and be part of change.