After reading this Herald Sun (!) article by Victorian Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, I thought this would be a good time to make public a project I’m developing. It’s a participatory community art project that will bring diverse groups of women together to highlight and unpack their day to day experiences of gender, power and public space.
While the issue of violent attacks against women often takes centre stage in the media, this project focuses on the constant undercurrent of gendered power plays that colour our everyday experiences of public spaces. From the lewd comments from men in passing cars, to the penis graffiti that lines our alleyways, to the omnipresent sexualised images of women plastered on bus shelters, these occurrences and images have subtle yet constant effects on our psychology acting as ever present reminders that we can’t get too comfortable in our public streets, that public space isn’t women’s space.
While such instances are considered too trivial to feature in the media or social commentary, they sit on the same spectrum as the more physical and violent acts against women in public space. They affect how we feel on our streets on a day-to-day level.
Through a series of twenty conversations structured in the familiar format of pass-the-parcel, In Passing will open discussions among groups of nine women at a time to reflect on their day-to-day experiences of public space in a light-hearted, constructive and forward-looking manner through a series of facilitated activities. At the same time, by creating opportunities to connect with neighbours, the sense of community and care will be strengthened across the suburb.
Already the project has received interest from across Australia from community leaders, school counsellors and gender studies teachers. In Passing can be considered a pilot for a much wider participatory community art project seeking to highlight and challenge gender inequalities inherent in our cultural norms, and explore ways that women can reclaim our public space.
The project is ready to go – the pass the parcel prototype is ready to be replicated and I’m waiting to hit go on promotions and web development, but I’m just waiting for some funding to come in so I can buy materials. Fingers crossed all these conversations I’m having with a particular organisation will amount to something!