Year of Uncertainty Community Partner, Sakhi for South Asian Women, presents Inherent Power, an exhibition of works from participants in the organization’s summer Community Mobilization Arts Practicum, a youth-centered space that employed art and the values of the gender justice movement to explore and undo the silos of white supremacy. This program was developed in response to the efforts of youth survivors of gender-based violence to break the silence around their own alienation and oppression. Through their works, developed under the guidance of practicum mentors, these politically-engaged young artists demonstrate their inherent power, which exists regardless of the systems, institutions, and social structures that define and distribute power in our societies.

Organizers Veda Kamra and Azaadi Khan share:

Our Community Mobilization Arts Practicum sought to create a youth-centered space that employed art and the values of the gender justice movement to explore ourselves and undos the silos of white supremacy—those that manifest in adolescence, the workplace, the nonprofit sector, and museum spaces. The artists featured in this exhibition are active in youth environmental justice groups, savvy with protests and rallies, and deft at establishing community. To us, these works demonstrate our inherent power—a power that exists regardless of the systems, institutions, and social structures that define and distribute power in our societies. We are thrilled to present these works to you, and hope you will carry their calls to action well beyond the walls of this museum.

Sakhi for South Asian Women exists to represent the South Asian diaspora in a survivor-led movement for gender-justice and to honor the collective and inherent power of all survivors of violence. Sakhi is committed to serving survivors through a combination of efforts including—but not limited to—direct services, advocacy and organizing, technical assistance, and community outreach. With more than 50% of their members based in Queens, Sakhi decided to relocate some of their operations and open an office in Queens as of 2020. For the Year of Uncertainty, Sakhi’s community partnership will focus on their Youth Empowerment Program (YEP), which supports the healing of young survivors as they break cycles of interpersonal and gender-based violence. In addition to supportive services for youth between the ages of 6-24, the program provides a safe space to freely explore issues around identity, family, relationships, and positive sexuality and gender.