Project History

Project co-coordinators, Serena Chaudhry and Prasanna Poornachandra, birthed the concept of Re-Drawing Resistance at the International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) conference in 2005. Two years later, in the fall of 2007, the sixty-piece (60) exhibit was assembled and opened at The Queens Museum of Art (QMA) in New York City. After the QMA, the exhibit traveled across town to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY). Finally, the exhibit landed in Vermont where it adorned the Dudley H. Davis Center at the University of Vermont.

In 2009, Re-Drawing Resistance launched its second tour which opened again at the Queens Museum of Art. The exhibit then traveled to Boston College where the Women’s Resource Center in collaboration with multiple student organizations, hosted an opening reception for the exhibit. The exhibit’s final destination was Toronto, Canada where Women’s Health in Women’s Hands, a community health center, hosted the exhibit in collaboration with the University of Toronto School of Social Work. The reception included a DJ, spoken word and theatrical performance. 

After one of the exhibit openings, a participant shared, “We hide so many feelings in our hearts and say nothing, but when I paint and show my fears and feelings through art, that is so effective….this exhibit shows that we are a group of women who had no source to channel our pain into but found something that allows us to protest for freedom and independence.” This is the impact Re-Drawing Resistance has on women!