Dissident Sisters: Bev Grant and Feminist Activism, 1968–72

An exhibition drawn from the collections of The Block Museum and Northwestern Libraries

During a pivotal period in American public life, Bev Grant participated in and photographed radical political movements in and around New York City. Between 1968 and 1972 she documented the formation of the women’s movement, the Black Panthers, the Rainbow Coalition, and protests against the Vietnam War. Featuring seventeen photographs by Bev Grant that were recently acquired by The Block, the exhibition tells stories of civil rights and social justice movements in the United States. Revolutionary calls are contextualized with ephemera—posters, pins, newspapers from the collections of the Northwestern University Libraries—as well as works by Chicago artists Peggy Lipschutz, Pearl Hirshfield, and the Women’s Graphic Collective, underscoring the intersectional commitment of radical feminist practices.

Curated by 2023–24 Block Art History Graduate Fellow Ruslana Lichtzier and Corinne Granof, Academic Curator