Baku:American artist Judy Chicago is set to present her banner project, ‘What If Women Ruled the World?’, at the ‘Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW’ festival. This festival is organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the IDEA Public Union and will run from October 30 to November 1.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the festival will also showcase the immersive exhibition ‘When Nature Speaks Heirs’. In an interview, Judy Chicago discussed the origins and central themes of her project, her collaboration with former Dior Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri, the focus on gender equality, and the personal significance of presenting her work in Baku.
Judy Chicago explained that the core concept of ‘What If Women Ruled the World?’ originated from her early works in the 1970s. During this period, she aimed to rewrite art history by founding the Feminist Art Movement, which sought to reframe history and culture through the female experience. The project later evolved on global stages, including a collaboration in 2002 with the Long March Project in China, where she invited Chinese women artists to envision a world ruled by women.
Chicago’s collaboration with Maria Grazia Chiuri was pivotal in developing the project. Chiuri and Dior supported and realized the concept on a grand scale for the Spring-Summer 2020 Haute Couture show in Paris. This collaboration allowed the project to transcend the fashion world, gaining a wider cultural impact.
The choice of banners as a medium for the project stems from Chicago’s engagement with textile and craft traditions, which historically served as powerful vehicles for transmitting memories and personal narratives. She proposed banners carrying questions about ‘What If Women Ruled the World?’, turning this tradition into public statements to inspire dialogue around gender equality.
The project invites audiences to reflect on questions relevant to contemporary challenges, emphasizing equality rather than matriarchy. It explores themes such as shared child-rearing responsibilities between genders and the impact of a female perspective on global issues.
Presenting this project in Baku holds significant meaning for Chicago, as it highlights the power of art to stimulate dialogue across cultures. The project has evolved since its inception in China, resonating with diverse audiences worldwide and underscoring the universal need for women’s voices in cultural dialogues to achieve greater equality and justice.