Hear Our Voices - Call for Art Entries

Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN) is proud to host its inaugural Hear Our Voices Art Project & Exhibit in October 2016.  October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and artwork from the Hear Our Voices Project will be on display online and at an art exhibit and fundraiser for SPAN on Thursday, October 27.

We are asking art makers across the community to incorporate a purple ribbon (a symbol of Domestic Violence Awareness Month), into a piece of art that depicts how violence impacts individuals and individuals impact violence.  You do not need to be a survivor of violence yourself to participate. 

All entries will be reviewed and those chosen for the exhibit will be awarded a $100 stipend to help cover the cost of materials, and a purple ribbon.

SPAN is the domestic violence non-profit serving Boulder and Broomfield Counties.  Each year SPAN provides services and support to more than 2,000 people in our community who have been impacted by violence.  The experiences of these people reflect the diverse realities, backgrounds, and logistical challenges survivors face.  The Hear Our Voices Project will tell some of those stories through visual arts, including (but not limited to) painting, drawing, photography, mixed medium, textile, ceramics and sculpture.

When you hear the words, victim of domestic violence, who do you see?

What is their gender? Their race? Their sexual orientation? Are they poor?
Working? Do they have children? Have they tried to leave an abusive relationship?
Do you sympathize with them? Are you angry? What if they went back to an abuser?
What if they never left? Have you ever heard the words, victim of domestic violence, and wondered to yourself, why didn’t she just leave? Is there a point when the sympathy runs out?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns that when we allow a single story to define a person’s experience, much gets missed and the risks are high.  Not only do we miss truly seeing a survivor’s humanity, we risk making dangerous assumptions around who is a “worthy survivor” and bringing stereotypes and stigmas to our understanding of an individual’s experience.
Collectively, we have the power to allow single stories to live on, or to engage in intentional storytelling, seeking out and listening to the richness in stories that capture the nuances of intersecting identities and realities.

The Hear Our Voices Project is for artists and creatives of all backgrounds.  SPAN encourages people of color, LGBTQIA folx, people with disabilities, survivors of violence, low income individuals and youth to submit proposals.

Proposals should represent some aspect of the experience/impact of intimate partner violence, on an individual, a family, a community.  Intimate partner violence occurs in all demographics and we encourage participants to use creative thinking around the issue, and to use a social justice lens.

All entries must include a purple ribbon provided by SPAN, not necessarily as a literal representation but as some element of the artwork.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All entries must be submitted by Tuesday, September 6.  Entries must include:

• Name, telephone number, email address
• Mailing address
• Short description of the Hear Our Voices artwork to be produced. Include:
  • Up to 200 word description of the artwork and/or no more than 2 visual images representing your Hear Our Voices proposal
  • Medium(s) to be used
  • Artwork dimensions
• If submitting digitally, please include up to 3 jpegs or web links to images of other examples of your artwork. If submitting hard copies, please include photos, sketches or descriptions of other examples of your art work.
• Submitted digital images should be sized at no more than 1024 by 768 pixels, and less than 1 megabite in disk space size
• Email entries to: Alexandra@safehousealliance.org.  Mail or dropoff:  SPAN Boulder Outreach Center, 835 North Street, Boulder CO 80304.

The Hear Our Voices Project curators will choose works appropriate for public display from among all of the works submitted, and will include as many artists as possible. Artists whose works are chosen for inclusion in the Hear Our Voices Project & Exhibit will be contacted by Friday, September 9 and given a $100 stipend for materials, plus their purple ribbon.

The final artwork must be delivered to SPAN on or before Monday, October 10.  All paintings, sketches, drawings or other pieces designed to be mounted on a wall must be suitably framed for display, and wired with braided wire on d-ring type hangers.  Any large installation pieces accepted may require that the artist assist us during installation to be sure that we display the work properly.

Failure to produce the Project artwork will require a refund to SPAN of the $100 stipend.  All Hear Our Voice Project artwork will become the property of SPAN and will be displayed and sold at the organization’s discretion.

Project participants will receive 2 free tickets to the exhibit.  Proceeds from the Hear Our Voices Project & Exhibit will support SPAN’s services to survivors and their children.

Questions?  Contact Alexandra Lynch at 303.449.8623 or email: Alexandra@safehousealliance.org.