30 April 2025- The Global Health Solidarity Project hosted its third bi-monthly webinar, bringing together leading voices from the worlds of activism, law, and art to explore the theme: "Artistic and Activist Understandings of Solidarity During Times of Trouble."
Moderated by Dr. Marlise Richter, the webinar was conducted as part of the Project's multi-country research initiative investigating the lived meanings and practices of solidarity across diverse global contexts. This session focused on Southern Africa, and featured three distinguished speakers whose personal and professional experiences offered profound insights into the complex layers of solidarity.
Fatima Hassan, a renowned human rights lawyer and founder of the Health Justice Initiative, opened the webinar by highlighting how solidarity is tested and defined in times of global health crises. Drawing on her extensive advocacy work around HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and the recent PEPFAR funding cuts, Hassan illustrated the urgent need for timely, intersectional, global and inclusive forms of solidarity that prioritise vulnerable communities. "In any epidemic or pandemic, if you're going to have a hoarding of knowledge or supplies, then you're not going to be able to respond to the pandemic in the best and most optimal manner. And that's why solidarity is so important," she stressed. Hassan further cautioned that "timing matters. It’s one thing to say 'I’m providing solidarity,' but if you're giving us the drugs years later, then that's not solidarity." She further added, “We thought we had built the right networks for HIV and COVID, but with today’s political and aid instability, we need new forms of solidarity. Our duty as activists goes beyond borders: we must stand not just for our own countries, but for our neighbours and communities worldwide.”
Constance Mathe, Coordinator of the Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work, offered a powerful perspective rooted in the lived experiences of sex workers in South Africa. In the previous bi-monthly webinar, Dame Catherine Healey provided insights into the state of sex work in New Zealand, and Constance’s contribution built on that discussion by offering a new perspective through the lens of the South African experience. Speaking from her years of activism, Mathe addressed the urgent need for full decriminalisation of sex work as a fundamental step toward safeguarding human rights. "Sex work is work. So if you stand with us, you need to recognise this. This is our foundation stone for solidarity and allyship," she declared. Mathe also spoke movingly about grassroots acts of care and solidarity among sex workers themselves, sharing recent examples where sex workers mobilised to support colleagues affected by devastating shack fires and tragic acts of violence. "They didn’t wait for us as an organisation to step in. They took their own clothing, cooked soup, and cared for each other. This is what I call care," she said.
Artist and activist Haroon Gunn-Salie concluded the presentations by reflecting on the role of art in radical solidarity. Sharing his personal journey, Gunn-Salie discussed his collaboration with the late curator Koyo Kouoh of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (Zeitz MOCAA), whose vision of "preemptive care" continues to influence his practice. "In this life and death context, our lives become tied to the lives of others, and so art needs to be tied to the lives of others," he explained. Through projects such as his "Line in the Sand" performance at Zeitz MOCAA, his provocative installations addressing structural inequalities, and his landmark submission of an artwork as legal evidence in South African court, Gunn-Salie demonstrated how art can serve as both a medium of protest and a tool for advancing justice. "Art has an incredible way of being a language in and of its own right that transcends language barriers and moves people to act," he added.
The panelists' reflections sparked a discussion during the Q&A session, where participants explored the interplay between care, solidarity, and positionality. Dr. Jantina de Vries, Co-Investigator of the Global Health Solidarity Project, and Donna Andrews of the University of Cape Town's Ethics Lab, highlighted the critical importance of making visible the contextual and personal dimensions that shape each person’s activism. They noted that solidarity is not automatically infused with care but often requires intentional, conscious acts rooted in compassion, humility, and mutual responsibility.
The third bi-monthly webinar offered a deeply moving and intellectually stimulating space to interrogate the many faces of solidarity during times of global crisis.
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