Filibuster #1 (Wendy Davis)

Artist Alicia Grullón presented Filibuster #1 (Wendy Davis) (2016) as part of the Whisper or Shout: Artists in the Social Sphere exhibition. Filibuster was a complete reenactment of the 11-hour filibuster by Texas State Senator Wendy Davis against a restrictive abortion bill. With this performance, Grullón reflected on the platforms provided to the empowered while also referring to a key women’s rights issue. By inserting herself into the Senator’s role, the reenactment also became the retelling of a historic moment from a woman of color's point of view, and thusly charged with new cultural, social, and political import. As an integral part of her artistic practice, Grullón creates social interventions and performative re-enactments that assert the lived experiences of people left out of, or in this case central, to history.