"Sexual violence in conflict needs to be treated as the war crime that it is; it can no longer be treated as an unfortunate collateral damage of war."
－ UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura
－ UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Zainab Hawa Bangura
The inspiration and starting point for this visual arts project is the disturbing situation of the ‘Comfort Women’ during and after WW2. As we approach the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 in 2015 it is important to address the place these comfort women occupy in the ongoing narrative of violence towards women all over the world.
ABOUT
The women principally from Korea, China, the Philippines, Taiwan and other countries occupied by the Japanese, were abducted, forced into sexual slavery and treated with such extreme brutality, that most did not survive the war. Following the end of hostilities their plight was sidelined, no one was held accountable for their sufferings and their story was wiped from Japanese history books by those in power.
70 years on, organized war rape and genocide rape are now standard practice in many armed conflicts and women on every continent are affected. We wish to highlight this appalling abuse of human rights by presenting and exhibition where artists from all over the world explore the complex legacy bequeathed to our society by these destructive phenomena. While the exhibition will investigate individual and collective accountability, it will not be a documentary of horrors; rather it will speak of loss and resilience, of sorrow and our shared humanity; its purpose is to bring insight and perspective.
‘Intimate Transgressions’ poses questions about our personal, social and political responsibility to those whom we perceive as ‘ other’, it confronts the issue that women are still a long way from achieving the most basic human rights, Our project will contribute to a better public understanding of the institutional and individual violence towards women while occurs during conflicts, It will also address the need for justice, for reparation and for dialogue so that the victims’ voices can be heard.
Programs AIMS & OUTCOMES
Intimate Transgressions is a multi-media international contemporary art exhibition which encompasses a series of concurrent talks & workshops. It will open in New York on 3 September 2015 and subsequently tour in Beijing (Preview on 25 October) and Shanghai (Preview on 21 November). In 2016 it will tour in Europe before returning to venues in Mexico and the USA.
The principle aims of the project are to:
-- highlight the issue of violence against women, particularly in times of conflict, and to do so by having a central focus on the plight of the Comfort Women
-- employ art in order to build international awareness of the issue and avoid it being ghettoized as an ‘Asia interest only’ phenomenon
-- run a series of related talks & workshops throughout the exhibition to raise its public profile and encourage discussion and debate around the theme
-- explore the historical and global contexts of violence against women and support recent UN initiatives such as COMMIT
-- perform an educative role for a global youth audience
-- create new audiences for art which is activist and ethically aware
-- give voice to the victims, investigate the impact of violence on them and on the perpetrators
Vision
We will submit an art auctions and fundraising dinner to help to collect $200,000 for supporting this event.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
AndiArnovitz (Israel)
A.N.V.I.L. Art Collective (USA)
Niamh Cunningham (Ireland/China)
Regina José Galindo (Guatemala)
Anita Glesta (USA)
Fion Gunn (UK/Ireland)
NermineHammam (Egypt)
ŠejlaKamerić
Teresa Margolles (Mexico)
ElaheMassoumi (Iran/USA)
Susana PilarDelahanteMatienzo (Cuba)
Chen Meitsen Taiwan/France)
Atsuko Nakamura (Japan)
Gail Ritchie (Northern Ireland)
Xin Song (China)
Michael Lisle-Taylor (UK)
Ma Yanling (China)
Gao Yuan (Taiwan/USA)
Yoshiko Shimada
JelenaTomasević (Montenegro)
Chen Qingqing (China)
EXHIBITION SPONSOR
Center for Asian Pacific Affairs (CAPA)
ABOUT
The women principally from Korea, China, the Philippines, Taiwan and other countries occupied by the Japanese, were abducted, forced into sexual slavery and treated with such extreme brutality, that most did not survive the war. Following the end of hostilities their plight was sidelined, no one was held accountable for their sufferings and their story was wiped from Japanese history books by those in power.
70 years on, organized war rape and genocide rape are now standard practice in many armed conflicts and women on every continent are affected. We wish to highlight this appalling abuse of human rights by presenting and exhibition where artists from all over the world explore the complex legacy bequeathed to our society by these destructive phenomena. While the exhibition will investigate individual and collective accountability, it will not be a documentary of horrors; rather it will speak of loss and resilience, of sorrow and our shared humanity; its purpose is to bring insight and perspective.
‘Intimate Transgressions’ poses questions about our personal, social and political responsibility to those whom we perceive as ‘ other’, it confronts the issue that women are still a long way from achieving the most basic human rights, Our project will contribute to a better public understanding of the institutional and individual violence towards women while occurs during conflicts, It will also address the need for justice, for reparation and for dialogue so that the victims’ voices can be heard.
Programs AIMS & OUTCOMES
Intimate Transgressions is a multi-media international contemporary art exhibition which encompasses a series of concurrent talks & workshops. It will open in New York on 3 September 2015 and subsequently tour in Beijing (Preview on 25 October) and Shanghai (Preview on 21 November). In 2016 it will tour in Europe before returning to venues in Mexico and the USA.
The principle aims of the project are to:
-- highlight the issue of violence against women, particularly in times of conflict, and to do so by having a central focus on the plight of the Comfort Women
-- employ art in order to build international awareness of the issue and avoid it being ghettoized as an ‘Asia interest only’ phenomenon
-- run a series of related talks & workshops throughout the exhibition to raise its public profile and encourage discussion and debate around the theme
-- explore the historical and global contexts of violence against women and support recent UN initiatives such as COMMIT
-- perform an educative role for a global youth audience
-- create new audiences for art which is activist and ethically aware
-- give voice to the victims, investigate the impact of violence on them and on the perpetrators
Vision
We will submit an art auctions and fundraising dinner to help to collect $200,000 for supporting this event.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
AndiArnovitz (Israel)
A.N.V.I.L. Art Collective (USA)
Niamh Cunningham (Ireland/China)
Regina José Galindo (Guatemala)
Anita Glesta (USA)
Fion Gunn (UK/Ireland)
NermineHammam (Egypt)
ŠejlaKamerić
Teresa Margolles (Mexico)
ElaheMassoumi (Iran/USA)
Susana PilarDelahanteMatienzo (Cuba)
Chen Meitsen Taiwan/France)
Atsuko Nakamura (Japan)
Gail Ritchie (Northern Ireland)
Xin Song (China)
Michael Lisle-Taylor (UK)
Ma Yanling (China)
Gao Yuan (Taiwan/USA)
Yoshiko Shimada
JelenaTomasević (Montenegro)
Chen Qingqing (China)
EXHIBITION SPONSOR
Center for Asian Pacific Affairs (CAPA)
Center for Asia Pacific Affairs (CAPA) is an independent non-profit organization established by overseas Chinese. The Center is dedicated to research and studies relating to Politics, Economics, Culture and International Relations of the Asia Pacific Region.
For fulfilling the above objective, the center, CAPA, is established in the City of New York, New York State of the United States and is chartered to sponsor activities offering Lectures by Distinguished Speakers, Documentary Films, Movies and Exhibits. The Center will also invite experts to write essays on Asia Pacific Affairs to be published as books of special topics. We hope through these activities we can search, discover and collect the voices of Asians, expressing opinions of their own in the various domains, such as culture and ideology, political and legal system, Foreign Policies, Social Life, etc. CAPA Official Website: www.capany.org Email: info@capany.org
WhiteBox Art Center
For fulfilling the above objective, the center, CAPA, is established in the City of New York, New York State of the United States and is chartered to sponsor activities offering Lectures by Distinguished Speakers, Documentary Films, Movies and Exhibits. The Center will also invite experts to write essays on Asia Pacific Affairs to be published as books of special topics. We hope through these activities we can search, discover and collect the voices of Asians, expressing opinions of their own in the various domains, such as culture and ideology, political and legal system, Foreign Policies, Social Life, etc. CAPA Official Website: www.capany.org Email: info@capany.org
WhiteBox Art Center
WhiteBox is a non-profit art space that serves as a platform for contemporary artists to develop and showcase new site-specific work, and is a laboratory for unique commissions, exhibitions, special events, salon series, and arts education programs.
WhiteBox was founded in 1998. Within its first two years, WhiteBox was nominated for “Best Group Show” by the International Art Critics Association for Plural Speech and for a survey of Viennese Actionists, Günter Brus and Hermann Nitsch. During its first decade, WhiteBox built a reputation for producing thought-provoking exhibitions and initiatives that fostered engagement among a broad audience, including neighborhood low-income housing communities and the Bayview Women’s Prison.
WhiteBox Official Website: www.whiteboxny.org
CURATOR:
Fion Gunn
WhiteBox was founded in 1998. Within its first two years, WhiteBox was nominated for “Best Group Show” by the International Art Critics Association for Plural Speech and for a survey of Viennese Actionists, Günter Brus and Hermann Nitsch. During its first decade, WhiteBox built a reputation for producing thought-provoking exhibitions and initiatives that fostered engagement among a broad audience, including neighborhood low-income housing communities and the Bayview Women’s Prison.
WhiteBox Official Website: www.whiteboxny.org
CURATOR:
Fion Gunn
Fion Gunn graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design, Ireland in 1980 and is represented by Peking Art Associates, Beijing. She is the first Irish artist to have had a public art commission in China (stainless steel sculpture for the city of Zhangjiakou) in August 2012. She has established ongoing links with many Chinese partners, artists, curators and venues and has initiated numerous successful collaborations showing Irish and Chinese artists together in high profile and popular venues - in the famous 798 Arts District, the National Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Beijing and the Irish Centre & TuShanWan Museum of Art, Loftooo Gallery M50 & the new Shanghai University Gallery in Shanghai.
Fion Gunn Official Website: www.fiongunn.org & www.bigsmallartists.com
Fion Gunn Official Website: www.fiongunn.org & www.bigsmallartists.com
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