Update: There are just a few tickets still available! If you plan to buy at the door, arrive early!
Are you wondering how to shake those January blues, and support the powerful women of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the same time?
Please join us for the vernissage of a powerful new multimedia exhibition, Beauty in the Middle: Women of the Congo Speak Out on Thursday, January 22nd from 5pm to 7pm! The featured speaker will be Julienne Lusenge, founder and director of the Fond pour les Femmes Congolaises (FFC) and a fearless leader in the Congolese women’s movement. CBC Ottawa’s Lucy van Oldenbarneveld will be the evening’s Master of Ceremonies. Tickets can be purchased at http://bit.ly/BIMtickets.
The exhibit is the result of a fact-finding mission led last winter by the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with award-winning photographer Pete Muller (TIME, New York Times) and filmmakers Jon Bougher and Kohl Threlkeld. The photographs and videos in Beauty in the Middle: Women of the Congo Speak Out take you on a journey — and in doing so, tell you the story of the conflict in eastern DRC and the women grassroots activists who are mobilizing against incredible odds to end rape, support each other, and find a way to justice and peace. It is these women – both activists and survivors – who are the beauty in the middle.
This inspiring evening will include music, hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar. You will also have a chance to bid on stunning prints from the exhibit during a live auction, and buy purses and other handcrafted items made by women in the DRC!
Hosted by MATCH International Women’s Fund, Nobel Women’s Initiative, StopRape in Conflict, SAW Gallery, and School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO), all proceeds raised from this event will go directly to the Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises. The FFC provides critical funding to grassroots organizations working to advance the rights of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Tickets can be purchased at http://bit.ly/BIMtickets.
$45 for general admission
$15 for non-waged and students
Vernissage:
Thursday, January 22nd, 5-7 pm
SAW Gallery, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa
The exhibit will run at SAW Gallery until February 6th.
For more information visit the Facebook page for the vernissage.
Space is limited — purchase your tickets now!
Media
Photo exhibit shows “Beauty in the Middle” of war-torn Congo, Metro News Ottawa, 21 January 2015.
“Beauty in the Middle” exhibit on Congolese women, CBC News Ottawa, 22 January 2015.
Exposition sur les femmes et la guerre au Congo à Ottawa, Radio-Canada, 22 January 2015.
Our Ottawa, CBC Television, 24 January 2015.
SPAO exhibits shed light on global issues, The Charlatan, 27 January 2015.