2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre when a gunman shot and killed 14 women, and injured a further 13 people at L'École Polytechnique de Montréal. In recognition of this event OPIRG is joining with the Center for Women’s Studies to sponsor an Art Contest which highlights women’s and men’s resistance to gender based violence.

About the Contest

Your work could be selected to be part of an art event that will engage the community in dialogue on violence against women. Entries will be displayed on March 8 on International Women’s Day, and during the Social Justice and Equity Studies Forum on March 20th 2010.
Submissions should have a visual component and a text accompaniment. All art forms are encouraged including photography, fine art, sculpture and multimedia.

Contest Guidelines

Themes

One in three women worldwide experiences violence in their lifetime, making violence against women one of the gravest human rights violations of our time.

Submission Topics:

This contest aims to showcase and educate people on the multiple forms of violence against women. We hope to raise thought-provoking questions about the roots and means of perpetuation of violence, as well as possible solutions. We seek to show stories of struggle and also stories of empowerment and victory. Forms of violence that artworks might reflect upon include:

•Violence on university campus
•Domestic abuse
•Sexual assault
•Internalized violence such as body image and beauty standards
•Violence against girl children
•Violence against Indigenous women
•Violence against lesbians, gender queer and trans people
•Violence against women in prison
•Racialized gender-based violence
•Reproductive abuse and violence
•Sexual harassment
•Honor killings
•War/occupation and gender-based violence in the context of militarization and military conflict
•Trafficking in women for forced labour or slavery

Additional themes might include:
•Interlocking systems of violence
•Masculinities and men’s role and responsibility in combating violence
•Public tolerance, apathy or sense of inevitability in the face of violence
•Links between cultures of violence against women and other issues such as environmental degradation, animal abuse, economic globalization, neocolonialism

Stories of victories might include:
o Rehabilitation art
o Creative grassroots campaigns
o Legislative victories
o Personal stories of empowerment
You are limited to one entry per person.

Fee

There is no fee to enter.

Entry

1.One entry per person
2.To enter please send an email to opirgbu@brocku.ca with “Attention Milica” as your subject and include the following information in the email with your entry: Name, email address, a high resolution photographic duplication of the image (preferably a .jpg file) or a video file if applicable, and title of artwork. If the text component of the artwork is not easily legible in the image duplication, it should be forwarded in an accompanying text file (.doc or .rtf) as well.

Timeline

1.Entries must be received by February 22nd 2010.
2.Winners will be notified by email and announced on the Ontario Public Interest and Research Groups website by February 26th 2010.

Judging

Judges will select two winners. One winner will be selected from each category: (a) Inspiration, (b) Incisive Social Commentary. Judging will be made based on subject, creativity, and composition. The decision of the judges is final.Judges will be made up of members of OPIRG, the Centre for Women Studies, and the Department of Visual Arts.

Prize

The selected winners will each receive a $ 100 honorarium generously donated from the Center for Women’s Studies and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group.

For more information about this contest email opirgbu@brocku.ca