A Rehearsal For A Revolution explores everyday strategies of resistance with a focus on the human body as a tool to resist systems of oppression.The exhibition is comprised of sound, video, animation, as well as sculptures of varied materials and techniques, that are the outcome of Razavi’s encounters with the survivors of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement underway in Iran.

Where the human body becomes a site of oppression — linked to rank and classification — choosing one’s clothing, nail color, or hand gestures become revolutionary acts of rebellion. The body assumes a central role in resistance and activism. Do we use our bodies to uphold systems of oppression, or to defy them?

A rehearsal for a revolution is the first part of Razavi’s new body of work on the topic of strategies of resistance which will be exhibited in April-May 2025 in Sculptor Gallery in Helsinki. The next part, Lemmings, a dance based performance, will premiere in November 2025 as a part of Baltic Circle Festival.

The exhibition is kindly supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation and Arts Promotion Center Finland.

Bita Razavi (1983, Tehran) is a multidisciplinary artist known for her autofictional practice centered around socio-political observations of everyday situations. While working as a cleaner in Helsinki, Razavi photographed design objects in Finnish homes, observing them as a manifestation of national identity. She married her schoolmate in her studio at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts to address Finnish immigration policies and spent four years renovating two houses in Estonia to study the Soviet renovation practices through years of changing economic and political situations. Razavi’s works have been extensively exhibited worldwide. She represented Estonia at the 59th Venice Biennale and received the Oskar Öflund’s grand prix in 2017 and the Fine Arts Academy of Finland Foundation Prize in 2025.