Violence Prevention Grey Bruce is accepting artwork, poetry, and song submissions for the Into the Open Art Showcase. Works should be inspired by the theme of "bringing sexual violence into the open to raise awareness, break down stigma, and encourage change". The free showcase event will take place May 29th from 1-4pm at Heartwood Concert Hall with featured visual art displays, performances, and open mic opportunities.

The Art Showcase is a follow up to the Into the Open:Art For Change Workshop run on April 9th 2016. Violence Prevention Grey Bruce brought over forty participants together to have conversations and make art that could bring sexual violence into the open. They talked about ways to raise awareness and break down stigma, and created paintings, poems, collages, songs, and screen prints to spread their messages of change. The discussion produced a number of guiding phrases including "We're a short way down a long road and we need to keep walking", "Silence isn't working for anybody", and "Sexual violence is not a women's or men's issue, it's a community issue and a problem that will take the engagement of the community as a whole to solve". On May 29th, those messages will be amplified again.

Artists and performers interested in participating should contact Jon Farmer at [email protected] with photos, text, or recordings of submissions.

source: media release, Violence Prevention Grey Bruce