Rebellion can be big, loud, and unmissable—or quiet, subtle, and deeply personal. Inspired by feminist icon Gloria Steinem’s bestseller Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, this exhibition reveals how contemporary artists infuse daily life with mindful gestures of creative defiance.
New acquisitions in the Center for Feminist Art appear alongside rarely seen collection objects, spanning continents and centuries. From Beverly Semmes’s cascading velvet dresses that symbolize female harmony to Sarah Sze’s sculptural installation that reflects on nature’s fragility, these works spark conversations that can be held only at the Brooklyn Museum.
Surprising pairings slyly challenge understandings of the world and our place within it. Natural Idiot Strings by Iñupiaq and Athabascan artist Sonya Kelliher-Combs is shown near a century-old seal-intestine parka, opening a cross-generational dialogue about Indigenous women’s creative labor. Contemporary American artist Nicole Eisenman’s satirical Three Walkers faces off with Auguste Rodin’s 19th-century sculpture The Burghers of Calais, contrasting classical heroism and modern political protest. Much like Steinem’s essays, Everyday Rebellions celebrates how individual choices can disrupt familiar narratives and reimagine resistance.
Everyday Rebellions: Collection Conversations is organized by Catherine Morris, Curatorial Chair and Sackler Senior Curator, with Carla Forbes, Curatorial Assistant, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.