ARTIVISM AT IWIN
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” — César A. Cruz
At IWIN, art has two wings: healing and social change. Through our programs, art creates space for reflection, connection, and empowerment. Through ARTivism, art steps into the public space—making the invisible visible, starting conversations, and bringing communities together around issues affecting women and girls.
From the Women, Life, Freedom Quilt and Red Shoes to Stitch by Stitch and our virtual art exhibitions, we transform individual acts of creativity into a collective voice.
🧶 Stitch by Stitch
🌎 City to City
IWIN’s Global Artivism Project to End Violence Against Women
We are excited to introduce IWIN’s 2026 project for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence early, giving communities plenty of time to gather, create, and prepare.
Last year, together, we turned 25 Red Shoes into a global community action. More than 1,000 red shoes came out of people’s closets, with installations appearing in 40+ cities across four continents.
What made the campaign powerful was not only what we displayed, but what happened around it: people gathered, talked, created, and brought an often-hidden issue into public spaces.
This year, we want to make that circle even wider—connecting home to home, community to community, and city to city through orange crochet.
👠 25 Red Shoes
🌎 25 Cities
November 25, 2025 — IWIN’s 25 Shoes in Red artivism campaign took more than 1,000 red shoes from closets into public spaces—libraries, universities, schools, art galleries, and city plazas across 40+ cities on four continents. Artists, activists, students, professors, and women and men from diverse communities came together, turning ordinary shoes into a collective public statement against violence toward women and girls.
WOMEN LIFE FREEDOM QUILT
A global, collaborative art project inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt, this program honors women’s resistance and voices through storytelling and textile-based art. Participants create quilt squares using stitching, painting, mixed media, calligraphy, and cultural symbolism—transforming grief into beauty and memory into protest.
Workshops are offered across communities, including Iranian, Afghan, Pacific Islander, South American, and American women. We’ve partnered with high schools, senior centers, refugee service providers, and even corporate campuses in the Bay Area.
Over 700 quilt pieces have been collected, with 85+ panels completed and exhibited in 20+ public installations across California. This program creates space for cross-cultural healing and storytelling—one stitch at a time—until Woman, Life, Freedom is a lived reality for all.
IWIN Virtual Art Exhibit in the Honor of theInternational Day of Elimination Violence Against Women 2021
Nov 25, 2021
I گالری مجازی هنرهای تجسمی به مناسبت بیست و پنجم نوامبر روز بین‌المللی مبارزه با خشونت علیه زنان به همین منظور۲۶ گروه از تشکل های مستقل زنان ایرانی از تاریخ ۲۵ نوامبر تا ۱۰ دسامبر ۲۰۲۱، برابر با ۴ تا ۱۹ آذر ۱۴۰۰، به مدت ۱۶ روز، در اقدامی مشترک گرد هم آمدند تا طی برنامهٔ مشترکی آثارشان را ارائه دهند گروه آیوین به همین مناسبت با افتخا اولین گالری مجازی هنرهای تجسمی را با شرکت چهل هنرمند ایرانی از چهار قاره، بر روی تارنما آیوین برگزار می‌کند IWIN’s Virtual Gallery IWIN, Iranian Women in Network is a proud organizer & curator of the first virtual gallery with 40 Iranian artists from 4 continents to honor November 25th the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women 2021 Our Special Thanks Special gratitude for the Art Gallery and Sideshow production to Shiva Pakdel, Dina Asna and Avideh another warm thanks goes to Pooyan Ghavidel for the beautiful theme music.
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Participating Artists
Tanaz Parishan Tehran, Iran Shokoufeh Jamali Sari, Iran Shirin Khashai Tehran, Iran Maryam Khojini San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Neda Khoshideh Tehran, Iran Atoosa Malek San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Shahram Mirzaie Cologne, Germany Fariba Mostafavi Tehran, Iran Elahe Nour bakhsh Vancouver, Canada Shirindokht Nourmanesh San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Shokufeh Kavani Sydney, Australia Shiva Pakdel San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Farzaneh Pourghanad Tehran, Iran Laleh Pourghanad Tehran, Iran Mahdieh Pourghannad Vancouver, Canada Azita Pourghasem London, United Kingdom Farideh Razavi Koln, Germany Maryam Salehi Tehran, Iran Mojdeh Salehi San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Avideh Samardar San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Vida Sarafan San Francisco / Bay Area, USA Nazanin Sepandarm Aurora, Canada Mehrnoosh Shadloo Mahshad, Iran Ali Shahbazi Orange County, USA Saye Sohrabi Leuven, Belgium Neda Towfiq Vista, USA Sepideh Vahidi San Francisco, USA Nazanin Vaziri New York, USA
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Categories
Book Illustration - Calligraphy - Clay - Commercial Art - Ceramic - Drawing - Lithography - Mixed Media - Collage - Painting - Photography - Sculpture - Textile
IWIN proudly organized:
48 artists from four continents in honor of International Women’s Day.
Mar 7, 2022
گالری مجازی هنرهای تجسمی به مناسبت ۸ مارس، روز جهانی زن — ۲۰۲۲
گروه IWIN با افتخار این نمایشگاه هنری مجازی را با حضور ۴۸ هنرمند از چهار قاره برگزار و کیوریت کرده است.
International Women’s Day Virtual Art Gallery — March 8, 2022
IWIN proudly organized and curated this virtual art exhibition, bringing together 48 artists from four continents in honor of International Women’s Day.