Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre dials up dialogue
"Confidence of a white man," by Cat Findell, 2015
Breaking isolation, sharing experiences, starting a conversation — all good reasons to hold a photography exhibition of works by survivors of sexual assault and their allies.
Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) is staging Dialling Up Dialogue: Visual Conversations on the Impact of Sexual Assault, from March 7 to 10 in the atrium of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV).
“It’s an exhibition to inspire new perspectives and understanding on a critical issue,” says Jennifer Drummond, coordinator of SARC. “We’re hoping the images and the image-making process will have a therapeutic impact and inform the conversation about what it means to give support.”
Themes of selfhood and consent
The exhibition is the outcome of participatory workshops run by SARC at the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy beginning in mid-January, during which students were encouraged to express themselves through art.
The workshops were organized around predetermined themes, such as understanding selfhood and understanding consent. They explored these themes using live model photography, self-portraiture and GIFs.
“For the exhibition, we also invited SARC volunteers to submit artwork in order to involve more voices and be more diverse,” says the event curator and facilitator, Jay Bossé, a third-year art history and studio art student. “The goal is to show art that reflects how they feel impacted as survivors or allies. We also want to create an open way to view this issue from new angles, through the lens of these artists.”
Dialling Up Dialogue will be installed with the participation of the artists. Prints of the photos will be mounted until March 10. A video of GIFs created at one of the photography workshops will be screened at the closing reception, which takes place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the show’s last day.
Local gallery Articule collaborated with SARC for the exhibition, loaning out their projector as well as providing supplies and equipment for the workshops.
“We’re hoping the content will inspire conversations and challenge myths about survivors and sexual violence” says Drummond. “People experience assault differently and they heal in different ways.”
Students, faculty and staff members can drop by Concordia's Sexual Assault Resource Centre (Room GM-300.27 of the Guy-De Maisonneuve Building) during office hours to access helpful information and support.
They can also visit the SARC website for a schedule of workshops and events. SARC's cookies and crafting evenings run every Wednesday until April 6 in Room H-300.24 of the Henry F. Hall Building.
Dialling Up Dialogue: Visual Conversations on the Impact of Sexual Assault will be on display from March 7 to 10 in the atrium of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV). Attend the closing reception, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., on March 10, to share your impressions and leave a message of support.