Women’s Cry exhibit in New York
By Vatican News
Sep 22 2023
The courage of women committed to the promotion of human rights and the protection of Creation is the protagonist at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York, on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly. The photographic exhibition, curated by Lia Beltrami in collaboration with the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication, had already been hosted – last May – in the Colonnade of St Peter’s Square.
From St Peter’s Square to Ground Zero to reaffirm a message of peace, reconciliation and hope for a better humanity. On the occasion of the 78th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the presentation of the photographic exhibition “Emotions to Generate Change – Women’s Cry” was held – on Wednesday, September 20, in New York.
The exhibit had previously been displayed to the public for the first time in May in a unique context: the Bernini Colonnade in St Peter’s Square.
Once again on this occasion, the exhibition conceived by Lia Beltrami brings together 26 shots by eight great photographers from around the world and bears witness to women’s resilience in remote areas of the planet or in countries ravaged by war.
Again it was hosted in an exceptional venue: the Perelman Arts Center, an arts and culture pavilion that has just been inaugurated in the area where the World Trade Center once stood before the terror attacks of 9/11.
The exhibition Women’s Cry was realized thanks to the synergy of several entities: the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations UMOFC-WUCWO, through its World Women’s Observatory, the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication and the Handshake agency.
After the introductory remarks from the artistic director of the Perelman Arts Center, Bill Rauch, the deputy editorial director of the Vatican media, Alessandro Gisotti, spoke underlining that this exhibition tells us “stories of fraternity, reconciliation, of the struggle against all discrimination, while supporting human dignity and integral human development. That is why each photo is accompanied by a phrase taken from Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Fratelli tutti.
From Togo to Ukraine, from the Amazon to Bangladesh, this exhibition not only shares the cry of women, as the title itself indicates, but wants to emphasize the hope that women give to their communities, their people, and the whole world”.
He then recalled Marshall McLuhan’s definition of photography: writing with light. “In these photos,” Gisotti said, “we find so much light. The light that emanates from the courage of women, mothers, daughters, working women, women who overcome every possible obstacle to give a better future to the people they love. We are sure that those who see this exhibition will take home some of the light that these women radiate to make today’s world less dark.”
For her part, Lia Beltrami emphasized hope, which “characterizes all the stories told through the images of the exhibition”. A hope – added the curator of the exhibition – that is nourished by the tenacity of women capable of overcoming the “toughest challenges” for the good of their families and their communities
Women also took center stage at the beginning of the day at the international office of Religions for Peace located right in front of the United Nations building with the screening of the docufilm Guardians of the Rainforest, a work by Lia and Marianna Beltrami.
The work, supported by the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative shines the spotlight on indigenous women fighting in defence of the rainforests in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Borneo. The screening was followed by a discussion on the role of indigenous peoples and particularly of women in protecting Creation.
Underlining the importance of the theme and the docufilm, Gabriel Labbate, head of the Climate Mitigation Unit of UNEP, the UN Environment Program, also participated in the Religions for Peace event. – Vatican News
