Images of Women and War

June 4 - 14, 2013
Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall

The Women and War project is an exploration of the female experience within war. It attempts to create a greater understanding of women who were and are exposed to war. Targeted issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder help bring focus to the outcomes and effects war has on women.

Over 60 photographs (including versos) selected from the Black Star Collection will be shown on the Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall to coincide with the conference and theatre performances in Toronto. This project is particularly timely as we see Canadian troops returning from the war in Afghanistan.

Co-developed by Peggy Shannon and Candice Monson, Women and War is a multi-dimensional project, which uses theatre performances in conjunction with workshops and symposia in Greece, Croatia and Canada to generate discussions related to women’s experiences of war and post-traumatic stress disorder. In July 2012, the project began in Greece with a conference, theatre and dance performances and a photography exhibition of images from Toronto Metropolitan University's (formerly Ryerson University) Black Star Collection in Athens, Greece.

The three plays developed for this project are based on Greek mythology. Written to encourage social discourse through the artistic approach of acting and dance. Each play parallels Greek myths with modern day warfare, spotlighting the issue of post-war and it’s effect on women and society. The three productions were written by leading female playwrights: Judith Thompson (Canada), Timberlake Wertenbaker (Britain) and Velina Hasu Houston (USA/Japan). Truly a creative approach – the impact is sure to be great.

The project, which received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in the spring of 2011, will continue until 2013. Additional support has been provided by Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), the Ontario Arts Council, the University of Athens and Mirvish Productions.




Event(s):

Exhibition Tours
Daily 2:30 PM

All events take place at The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre), unless otherwise noted