Objects of Agency was and is a 52 week long virtual exhibition, through 2023. The exhibition addresses the health care crisis which has recently culminated in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and stripped thousands of people of the right to bodily autonomy. 

“The United States has the worst maternal mortality rate among other similarly developed countries. According to the University of Colorado, due to the Dobbs decision, maternal mortality rates are projected to go up 14%. For women of color, it is 20%. Simply due to women’s health care becoming more restrictive and less accessible.

At the time this call for art was written, when “abortion” was typed into a Google search, the first page result was a misleading website filled with fear slogans and misinformation to prevent women from seeking necessary and viable health care options. A recent research study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate showed that in many right wing states, 1/10 Google search results for abortion services lead to anti-abortion fake clinics. And when abortion was typed into Instagram, the first hashtag was #abortionisevil. Due to activists, advocates, artists, and scientists this scale is tipping to provide accessible, accurate, and viable healthcare information.

So, what can we do to continue the fight for abortion rights? How can we use our creative voices to counteract misinformation and false advertising and provide viable discourse and inspiration?

At Hera Gallery, we invited you to cry, rage, and make art. We invited you to connect with others through creative expression in hopes that it would bring a sense of insight, or deep feeling, beauty, education, perseverance, protest, connection and/or community. Culminating in the virtual exhibition Objects of Agency, we bring you 52 selections of work from artists across the country. 

Each week, Hera Gallery will chose one featured artist and artwork from the exhibition to represent the tribulations and inspirations of the current state of women’s health care in America. Featured artists will be posted on all social media accounts.

Objects of Agency aims to stimulate, educate, and encourage abortion care. It aims to challenge the anti-abortion campaigns and false information which dominate the internet. It aims to provide access to factual information and ultimately to create a platform and a network to share the voices, choices, and stories of all women and female identifying persons.”

Here are the ARTISTS TALKS 1 and 2:
ARTISTS’ TALK 1
ARTISTS’ TALK 2