Trigger Warning
We have created a traveling art exhibit to demonstrate the scale of gendercide. See Walk-Through video. We use 11,000 pairs of baby booties to represent the 100-125 million “missing” women. (Each pair represents 10,000 missing women.) We commissioned the booties from 30 women's cooperatives in developing countries. By paying them fairly for their work, we took practical action to support at-risk women. The art exhibit leads directly to a take-action display which explains how we can empower women: Education for girls Job training and microfinance Maternal healthcare Anti-trafficking work While the exhibit runs, we will be raising funds to educate vulnerable girls in developing countries. Fifty percent of funds collected will be sent to well vetted schools/scholarship programs for girls in five developing countries. The other fifty percent will help the Gendercide Awareness Project send this exhibit to the next city. Artists Respond – Works of Art Contributed by DFW Artists We have asked professional, gallery-exhibited artists to offer a piece that responds to our exhibit. Rather than repeating the message of the art installation, they use the language of art and imagination to help viewers deal with feelings of shock, paralysis, or defeat — all common reactions when people first learn about gendercide. The artists, many from the international community and gendercide-affected countries, offer tribute, solidarity, compassion, hope, and a path forward. About the women who made the baby booties Many of the booties were made by women and girls in extreme circumstances. Cooperatives that we worked with consisted of: Girls trafficked into the sex trade and later rescued Girls trafficked as brides and later rescued Girls at risk for being trafficked (daughters of prostitutes) Women whose lives were devastated by AIDS Untouchable (dalit) women formerly forced to clean latrines Afghan women who turned to sewing and knitting to make a living when the Taliban forbade them to work outside the home Refugee women from Syria and Iraq living in Turkey and Jordan. We asked the women to make the baby booties using materials traditional to their own cultures. That wasn’t always possible, but many booties reflect the artisanal traditions of the women who made them. The opportunity to work with dignity through sewing and knitting is of incalculable value for these women. Read more about them on our website and blog. DFW students also made baby booties: Booker T. Washington School for the Visual and Performing Arts Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School Cedar Hills High School Ursuline Academy Hockaday School Lakehill Preparatory School helped build the exhibit. Dallas Yarnbombers, Dallas KnitWits, Knit unto Others, and Holley’s Yarn Shoppe contributed baby booties.
Date
February 12, 2017
Location
Fashion Industry Gallery
1807 Ross Avenue
Dallas, Texas, United States
75201
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