SAKSI Malaysia and Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) are calling upon Malaysian artists to come forward and support the work to eliminate gender-based violence through an art exhibition themed 'Strokes of Resilience'.

The call is for artists of all skill levels, ages, backgrounds and genders. The themes which the art should centre on include: interpretations of community resilience in the face of violence against women, navigating structural systems to get help, as well as finding support systems through family, friends, community, and organisations.

The project is in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Nov 25) and to kick off the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (Nov 25) which runs until Human Rights Day (Dec 10).

SAKSI and WAO are hosting the art exhibition to generate awareness and raise funds to support the work against gender-based violence.

According to a SAKSI spokesperson, the exhibition will explore how one navigates experiences of violence, including misogyny, harassment and physical violence through art.

Violence against women is defined as 'any act of gender-based violence that causes, or can cause, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women and girls'. Photo: PixabayViolence against women is defined as “any act of gender-based violence that causes, or can cause, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women and girls”. This includes threats of such violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

Globally, almost one in three women (an estimated 736 million women aged 15 or older) have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.

And, despite efforts to address violence against women, it persists as a pervasive social problem affecting communities across the world.

To end, violence against women, we need a strong support network for survivors and bystanders, said SAKSI.

“Our call for art also hopes to see interpretations of community resilience, and support from friends, families, social workers and authorities. Social workers, who are often the first people a survivor comes into contact with when seeking help, support by providing counselling and connecting the survivor with legal and community sources to secure their safety and stability.”

“We want to honour and uplift those at the frontlines dealing with violence against women. For a survivor, reaching out to others – whether a social worker or family member – is often the first step on the road to healing.”

“But, everyone in the survivor’s life - from their family and friends, to coworkers and neighbours – can play a vital role in offering support.”

Strokes of Resilience is an exhibition that explores how one navigates experiences of violence, including misogyny, harassment and physical violence through art. Photo: Pixabay“One of the primary goals for this exhibition is to raise funds to financially support ‘violence against women services’ such as counselling, shelter services, our social workers and more. The artworks on display and associated collateral will be sold with 50% of the proceeds going to WAO to fund our Services team, and the remainder going to the artist as compensation for their work,” said SAKSI.

Both traditional and digital art will be accepted and submissions should be between A1 to A3 in size and able to fit onto a standard sized easel. All submissions need to be the artist’s own work

To apply, artists will need to download and complete the Feature Exhibition Entry Form (instagram.com/saksimalaysia/) and Feature Exhibition Disclaimer and email it with a copy of your submission to saksi@wao.org.my

The submission deadline is Nov 12 (Sunday) 11.59pm and artists will be notified of their acceptance by Nov 17 (Friday) and contacted regarding logistics, set-up and other details.

More info: SaksiMalaysia