Hello!
Although it is summer, the Center for Girls continues its fight against violence toward little girls, girls and women.
This year we have realized the fifth Feminist Art Colony with 12 female artists.
We want to empower women artists to become familiar with feminist topics and incorporate them into their work, to change the image of society through art and to fight for a life without violence.
The girls / women who participated in the Feminist Art Colonies had the opportunity to hear about the issue of violence, human trafficking and women's health through performances, workshops and conversations with activists of the Center for Girls.
The introductory workshop was extremely emotional. Women and girl artists were opening up, presenting their personal stories, stories of their mothers in the context of violence or gender-imposed roles or positions in the faculties of painting, sculpture on which they have studied or are studying.
It was cathartic. Workshop opened up many topics that female artists have been addressing over the next week.
Part of the program of the colony were three plays:
1. Nadezda self-portrait in the plural
Nadezda was primarily a woman who, in addition to painting, was involved in humanitarian work.
She went significantly ahead of her contemporaries and this is one of the reasons why she was not understood in the traditional patriarchal milieu of the Yugoslav countries.
The play is about her struggle to make the life choices that she wants.
2. I am an emotional creature
The lyrics of this play talk about the various problems that teenage girls around the world face - identity, violence, trafficking, appearance, sexual orientation.
3. Invisible 45+
The Invisible 45+ show aims to highlight the various problems these women face in their job search, alarm the public, and point out the need for various forms of support and measures to improve their condition.
The performance was assisted by the Secretariat for Culture and Information of the City of Niš.
The other two plays are performed by the activists of the Center for Girls, which is very important because they are empowered by acting and encouraged to leave their comfort zone.
Within the 6th ArtFemine festival we organized a workshop "Painting Rickwand".
In this workshop, we painted canvas and conveyed our feelings and our ideas about how women and girls experience violence today. We should put into action the fight against violence against girls and women, and it starts with an education that would empower at least one person who would then pass on. The canvas was painted by 11 girls and women and three children.
The workshop was led by artist and associate of the Center for Girls Milena.
Until next time.
The Center for Girls team