What does our public space mean to us? How can we use art to reclaim it? How does art start conversations, turn bystanders into upstanders, and build movements?

These are the questions CASS contemplated during our workshop this past Friday on how to use street art, or “artivism” to address gender-based public sexual harassment and assault. The event, held in partnership with DC’s Women’s Information Network (WIN) and featuring CASS’s artist in residence, ADAPT, was part of WAM! It Yourself 2013, a multi-city event by Women, Action & the Media.

Creative expression can be a powerful and cathartic element of self-care, and artivism is a great way to send a message to your community that street harassment needs to stop!

During the workshop, we built space for two kinds of creativity: The kind that involves cutting out and coloring lots of prints, and the kind that redefines the idea of “community” by making safety and opportunity for survivors of violence a priority. Participants were given the choice to exercise their First Amendment rights by hitting the streets and doing some legal wheatpasting with CASS’s Designer in Residence, Graham Boyle, or to participate in the story-sharing workshop that yielded the original images.

In just two hours, we filled the streets with the voices of women calling for an end for public sexual harassment and assault.

Contact us for information on how to conduct an artivism workshop in your group or community — and let us know when you spot any of our art in the Farragut area!

Huge thanks to Holly Kearl, Andrea Gleaves and Ashley Juraska for the photos! Check out all of Holly’s photos of the event here.

And Don’t Forget — If you spot any of our art, strike a pose, send us your pic, and
WIN FREE TIX ($25) to our party, “Lights, Camera, (Collective) Action!”