<
https://theconversation.com/how-can-art-respond-to-stories-on-institutional-child-sexual-abuse-203914>
"On entry to Newcastle’s The Lock-Up contemporary art space is a textile
artwork by institutional child sexual abuse survivor and artist Elizabeth
Seysener.
Produced as part of the community arts program running alongside the
Loud Sky
exhibition, the triptych depicts the three major events in her story of
recovery: carrying the burden of shame for over 50 years, the traumatising year
of disclosure to the Catholic Church, and finding a place of being free to
speak out.
In the entry to the next room, a loop of primary school photos of survivors
reminds us it is children who were harmed.
Another room features a large timeline produced by graphic design students at
the University of Newcastle. It depicts the central events of two public
inquiries and court cases as they unfolded between 1995 and 2022.
Television footage captures the major events. A framed document expresses the
heartfelt responses of family members of survivors, whose voices are rarely
heard.
This exhibition, titled
Loud Sky, addresses institutional child sexual abuse
through the eyes of five professional artists commissioned to work with the
local survivor community.
“Loud Sky” is a riff on the Loud Fence Movement, which began in 2015 in
Ballarat as a community response to the harrowing details emerging from the
hearings. Community members tied coloured ribbons on the fences of Catholic
churches and schools where children had been harmed.
This has since become an international movement."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
