Earlier this month, feminist artist Judy Chicago and founding member of Pussy Riot Nadya Tolokonnikova launched What if Women Ruled the World, a metaverse project that begins with a blockchain-enabled call-and-response. The project invites feminist allies around the world to answer questions on the website of creative agency DMINTI. The responses will be used to build “the largest gender rights-focused NFT, with shared ownership by all participants.” Chicago and Tolokonnikova commemorated the launch of What if Women Ruled the World with an event that featured a live conversation between the artists at this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach.
“Feminist role models and leaders are needed now more than ever – we build on the legacy of the women who fought for our rights. I hope we can inspire more people to speak up for the feminist cause and take action to not ask politely for our rights, but to demand it.” – Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot
The project, which derives its name from Chicago’s 2020 Paris installation that she presented in collaboration with Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, encourages participants to share their ideas to be used in the creation of a global Web3 community in the DMINTI metaverse. What if Women Ruled the World will continue to develop as users submit their responses and through various upcoming projects, which are set to take place in-person at various spots around the world.
“As we watch the gains of the last 50 years being pushed back, Nadya and I have come together to invite people all over the world to think collectively about how to reclaim our world, our humanity, and our planet.” – Judy Chicago
A feminist artist, author, and educator, Judy Chicago was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame earlier this year. Social and environmental justice have remained driving inspirations for her work throughout her six-decade career. Chicago’s largest Smoke Sculpture to date, “Forever de Young,” was unveiled at the artist’s San Francisco retrospective in 2021, which received critical praise upon its debut.
Nadya Tolokonnikova is the founding member of feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot. She is also an author and activist, having been sentenced to two years in prison for an anti-Putin protest in 2012. After instigating a hunger strike in protest of savage prison conditions, Tolokonnikova continued her artistic endeavors in a Siberian penal colony until she was released. Some of her recent gallery exhibitions include Empowerment at Wolfsburg, Germany’s Kunstmuseum (2022–2023) and Inside Pussy Riot at London’s Saatchi Gallery (2017).
Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot was previously featured on the cover of The Untitled Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Collector’s Print Edition, “The REBEL Issue.” Order your copy here.
