WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Inside an old firehouse in Brentwood, artists are hard at work: stapling, painting, sewing, creating a vision for women and femmes – a voice for the Women’s March.
“I’m always very into feminine empowerment particularly black feminine people,” explained Amir Khadar a young artist from Baltimore, “because there has been a lot of violence acted towards us and art is my way of unpacking that"
Khadar who identifies with the pronoun “they” created capes for the march. They stretch one long cape out dyed various shades of blue and with help from another artist, Khadar waves the cape up and down.
The long, flowing cape represents the sea of change, one that came first in the march being more inclusive this time around.
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“A lot of the policies this year are centering around women and femmes in the past,” Khadar said. “I had some problems with the Women’s March and how they enacted policies. I almost saw this as an opportunity to put action to my thoughts against the march and instead of being so anti come from a place of change.”
This is the first time many of the eight artists have worked together but their collaborations will be in the front of the march - a whole city block's length.
“Our goal is to translate these policies, which can be dense and seem inaccessible through the art to the public,” explained artist organizer Rose Jaffe. “So that people can feel connected to it through these beautiful objects.”
“This is a moment to illuminate how collectively we're all going to be in a better, stronger, more engaged space,” added organizer Kate Decicccio. “If we can fight for the rights of everyone.”