The Womxn Project Education Fund Enters the Fast Lane
The organization’s new billboard project highlights local designers and draws attention to educational resources on reproductive health
Providence – On April 2, the first of four billboards sponsored by The Womxn Project Education Fund (TWPEF) was unveiled. The first billboard is located on I-95 South, south of the city center, and will remain in place until April 30. The second billboard will be unveiled on April 24 and will face east on 90 Orms Street.
Cristina DiChiera, TWPEF director, says of the project, “We’ve all been confronted by anti-choice billboards that clutter the highway with false propaganda. TWPEF decided it was time for those billboards to share the road with truth and empathy. It is our hope that these prominent and eye-catching art installations will prompt discussions, open minds, and help to destigmatize abortion.”
The billboards direct people to the TWPEF website where they can find a comprehensive directory of reproductive resources, written by educators, medical professionals, and advocates working in the reproductive justice space.
“Our billboard project accomplishes two main goals,” says DiChiera. “It moves TWPEF’s educational mission forward and uses art to create a more just and equitable Rhode Island.”
Local artists Mesa Serbin and Kannetha Brown were commissioned by TWPEF to design the first three of the four billboards. Serbin is a Native American illustrator, born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. Brown is a Providence-based Cambodian-American photographer whose art contemplates the relationship between social justice and photography. Both artists are currently completing degrees at the esteemed Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. During a recent Facebook Live interview, DiChiera spoke with the artists about their creative process and hopes for the billboard project. The final piece in the series, which will be on display through mid-July, will be designed by The Womxn Project executive director Jocelyn Foye.
