Zibi is proud to announce that it will be hosting the French exhibit “Égalité Mon Oeil” from March 8th to the 15th 2018. This Gatineau edition is presented in collaboration with la tribu grafik with the support of the CSN and the SPUQO, among others. It is curated by Valérie Yobé, president of la tribu grafik and director of the Multidisciplinary School of Image at the UQO and by Guillaume Lanneau, French graphic artist and set designer, member of the collective(1) behind this exhibition, originally held in 2016 at L’espace Niemeyer, headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris.
The international posters on display resonate in the heart of a symbolic venue, the Allumettières, by paying tribute to the girls and women who worked at the E. B. Eddy match factory. It is worth remembering that they formed the first women’s union in the country and stood up to their employer to defend their rights.
While the February 27, 2018 edition of CBC news online featured an article on the tabling of the budget by the federal Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, entitled: Budget 2018: Liberals spend billions to close gaps for working women, Indigenous families, Égalité mon oeil ! reminds us that we still have a long way to go. Presented for the first time in Quebec on March 8, 2018, International Women’s Day, Égalité mon oeil ! provides a fitting opportunity to raise awareness with the public, our institutions and our governments on the power of politically and socially-engaged graphic design in connection with great feminist causes.
The posters on display were designed by both women and men, in equal numbers. They cover equality in the workplace, sexual and reproductive rights, parity in politics, violence against women, and culture. They come from associations, unions, institutions, municipalities and cultural spaces. The organizing collective searched for them all over the world, in France, Poland, Russia, Germany, England, the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba and finally, Quebec.
The 2018 edition welcomes 15 posters selected at the 2017-2018 Marc H. Choko scholarship awards of the Quebec Graphic Designer Society, whose theme was Women and the power to act. The voices of young Quebec graphic designers are thus added to those of graphic designers scattered around the world, but united in the defence of women’s rights.
Feminism has never been as indispensable as it is today. We must never forget the steps we’ve taken, what we’ve achieved, as well as their vulnerability. This is why Zibi is proud present this international exhibit alongside la tribu grafik. We’d like to thank Valérie Yobé and Guillaume Lanneau for working arduously to bring this exhibit to Gatineau, as well as for their contribution to the Québec graphic art community.
