The Open University (OU) is hosting a special online screening and panel discussion on 20th June to celebrate the release of a new documentary film ‘Wholly Trinity: Abortion, Art and Activism in Ireland.’
The film, made in collaboration with the 2021 Turner Prize winners the Array Collective and the charity Alliance for Choice, explores the impact, creativity and emotion that artists brought to the campaigns to repeal the Eighth Amendment in the South and decriminalise abortion in the North. These campaigns secured abortion rights for women and pregnant people across the island of Ireland.
Through interviews with the artists and activists involved, the film shows how they used creativity, performance and humour, to ignite important conversations and build communities of solidarity to transcend barriers and make history.
Dr Peter Keogh, Professor of health and society, said:
“The abortion campaigns in both the South and the North of Ireland were characterised by immense creativity that drew on and developed earlier global and local traditions of art in activism. This film communicates the exuberance and excitement of that time through the accounts of those artists who were involved. It was a pleasure and an education for me to be involved in the making of this film with Array and Alliance for Choice.”
Dr Helena Walsh, live artist, activist and academic, said:
“In capturing some of the courageous and creative activism that contributed to the campaigns for abortion rights in both the North and South of Ireland, this film is of immense importance. It pays tribute to the collective power of feminist activism and acknowledges the role of artists in contributing to the fight for reproductive justice on the island of Ireland. It was an honour to participate in this film and work with Array, Alliance For Choice and The Open University.”
Emma Campbell, Artist and Activist (The Array Collective and Alliance for Choice) and narrator of the film, said:
“It’s always been clear to me that you can’t have a powerful social movement without artists. As Lucy Lippard said, artists alone can’t change the world but neither can anyone else, on their own. The artists in this film have gone beyond empathy to ensure their work is acting towards real change. The work has warmth, humour, power and it recognises the strength we find in each other, where we can then build resistance, towards revolution.”
The online event is free to attend and will take place on Thursday 20th June, 7.00 – 8.30pm.
Following the screening there will be a panel discussion and Q&A with the academics and artists involved in the creation of the film.
To secure a place please follow this link: Wholly Trinity: Abortion, Art and Activism Beyond Borders Tickets, Thu, Jun 20, 2024 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
