Press releases

MINSK, 23 November (BelTA) – The exhibition project #открытажить (#opentolive) will kick off in Minsk on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, BelTA learned from the United Nations Population Fund in Belarus (UNFPA Belarus).

According to international statistics, every third woman in the world is a victim of sexual or physical violence committed by her acquaintance. Many women try to deal with this situation on their own. Many of them fail. The #opentolive project is meant to tell the stories of women who suffer from domestic violence and those who managed to overcome the crisis by walking down a complicated and painful path. This is another possibility to draw public attention to the problem of domestic violence, the organizers clarified.

The exhibition space will be divided into three parts representing the stages the victim goes through. The first part is a photo project Every Third by Alexander Vasyukovich and Darya Tsarik. The second one named Open features pictures by victims of domestic violence drawn during art therapy master classes. They were held by Belarusian artist Nika Sandros for victims of domestic violence from the shelter of the public association Radislava. The third part, To Live, is a photo project I Survived by Dasha Buben. It symbolizes the moment the woman gains control over her life. This is the path the woman walks down from the moment of pain to freedom from the past.

The exhibition will stay open at the cultural center Korpus (9 Masherova Avenue, building 8) through 29 November.

The art initiative #opentolive makes part of the international technical assistance project “Strengthening national capacity to counteract gender-based violence (with focus on domestic violence) in the Republic of Belarus” carried out by the UNFPA and the Belarusian Interior Ministry with financial support of the UK Embassy and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).