Art exhibition I Was Born a Girl on display at Hanken

The exhibition features portraits of women who have broken barriers and driven global change, representing a wide range of cultures and advocating for human rights. I Was Born a Girl is an international project that raises awareness of women’s rights and gender equality through art and poetry. Each artwork is paired with a poem written by Pietarinen. At Hanken, nine canvas reproductions from the project will be on display.

For each country the exhibition visits, Pietarinen paints a local gender equality champion, highlighting their important work. By showcasing diverse role models from various cultures and backgrounds, the project sends a clear message that anyone can make a difference and contribute to positive change.

Peppi Stünkel, the producer of the project, will visit Hanken on 25 September at 11:30 and give a tour about the exhibition open to Hanken staff and students. Sign up for the guided tour here: Registration for I was born a girl guided tour

“It is an honour to bring I Was Born a Girl to Hanken as the 19th stop of the exhibition. This project has grown through close collaboration with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and already 11 Finnish embassies worldwide, and at the United Nations in Geneva. Presenting the exhibition during Hanken’s SDG Week highlights how art can be a powerful voice in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, especially equality and human rights,” says Stünkel.

”Hanken has a long history of supporting the arts, and every year during the SDG week we have had the perspective of an artist’s reading of a sustainability question. In this exhibition our longstanding focus on gender in/equality is in focus, and we hope it raises important reflections in the audience”, says Nikodemus Solitander, associate dean of sustainability at Hanken.

You can find the entire programme for the SDG week on the Hanken webpage.

Text: Marlene Günsberg
Photo: Private