See the Art Exhibit Celebrating Bodily Autonomy and Queer Liberation in New Jersey

There's currently a mobile exhibition on tour in the US that's more timely than ever.

Body Freedom for Every(body) is a gallery on wheels that has garnered thousands of spectators on its nearly 10,000-mile journey across major US cities since last fall. The touring show is dedicated to art on reproductive rights, trans joy, and queer liberation, which are especially pertinent amid a time rife with political attacks on all. The exhibition is now on view in Newark, New Jersey, where each of its 100-plus artworks that rotated throughout the four-month mobile show are on exhibition at Project for Empty Space, an organization focused on socially oriented art. It's available to visit through April 4.

Included in the exhibition, directed by Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Pauline Jampol, are artists like Yvette Molina, Laurie Simmons, Marilyn Minter, and many more who have dedicated their lives and careers to activist art. After Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022, writer and visual artist Carmen Winant photographed the labor required to perform abortion healthcare. Her photographs were shown at the 2024 Whitney Biennial and have been compiled into a book, The Last Safe Abortion. This book is among the many highlighted works in Body Freedom for Every(body).

Each piece in the collection aims to spark conversations on topics of personal agency and bodily autonomy while living under an administration that seeks to strip healthcare services for both women and queer people. While American policies are rapidly about-face changing, Body Freedom for Every(body) is an important reminder about how community and joy persist despite climates teeming with hate.

"Now more than ever, we believe this work is essential, and we will keep using our mobile exhibition space as a vehicle for nationwide community-building. By sharing the experiences from the past year, we hope to reinforce the importance of celebrating one another alongside the fight for autonomy and healthcare," Jampol and Wahi said in a press release.

Before the New York City-adjacent stop on the exhibition tour, it traveled the country, from Houston to Iowa City, wrapped in Barbara Kruger's "Your Body Is a Battleground" piece from the 1989 Women's March on Washington. This show serves as a much-needed reminder that art is a vital mode of resistance to institutional assaults on freedom. These pieces prove that people will continue to create art in the face of an administration that seeks to destroy it.

See additional details on the Body Freedom for Every(body) website.