The exhibition is open to the public until June 22 at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
In addition to being a poet and spoken word artist, Congolese artist Do Nsoseme Dora is also a photographer. Her work, at the crossroads of documentary and conceptual art, often depicts scenes that challenge traditional gender roles. She is one of about ten women whose photographs have been on display since June 7 at the Photoville Festival in New York.
Captured across eleven different contexts—Abyei, Cyprus, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mozambique, Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, and Sudan—these images tell a collective story of resilience, resistance, and transformation. All were taken by local women photographers.
Titled “Shared Perspectives: Women on the Frontlines of Peace”, the exhibition highlights women involved in peacebuilding, human rights advocacy, and UN peacekeeping—women whose experiences are too often overlooked. It is being launched to mark the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
The photographs and their contexts reveal both the many challenges women face, and the opportunities that arise when women take center stage.
This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Department of Peace Operations, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, UN Women, and the Elsie Initiative Fund.
The exhibition is open to the public until June 22 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Afterwards, it will travel to several of the represented countries, before being exhibited at United Nations Headquarters in New York in October, and then at the European Parliament in Brussels, among other locations.
For photojournalist Laura Hasani from Kosovo, “Too often, the role of women in peace processes is overlooked or underrepresented.”
“These photographs aim to change that,” she says, “so the world can see and hear the women rebuilding their communities and driving change.”
In Haiti, Clyfane Saintil, a feminist activist and leader of a non-profit organization, supports young girls and women in asserting their rights and building their futures.
“Change begins in our communities, where women and girls organize, and when men choose to be allies rather than obstacles,” she asserts.
“Shared Perspectives: Women on the Frontlines of Peace” embodies the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and its subsequent resolutions. These texts recognize the vital importance of women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in conflict prevention and resolution, and call for their increased inclusion in peace processes and decision-making at all levels.