Violence against women is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that is rarely discussed openly. ‘Open Your Mouth – a manifesto,’ is an attempt to promote public debate on this urgent matter and prompt worldwide discussion and strategies to put violence at an end.

The artist will create a small immersive installation to synthesise an enormous body of thought, exploration and research considering this major public health issue.

Beginning with an ethnographic research process, the artist considers the phenomenon of violence from different points of view. Thus, the artist proposes to get to know the people who help and support victims; the volunteers who help the children, adolescents and adults who are the victims; the care structures, emergency shelters and refuges, and the survivors, by listening in the first person. From this process of listening and exploring the issues, a sculptural and audio-visual installation will be created. 

‘Open Your Mouth – a manifesto’ aims to raise the public's concern about the phenomenon of violence against women, a human rights violation, to make the case to collectively rethink strategies to eradicate violence in our societies and promote the 5th objective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations (United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe, 2018). It is a wake-up call to give visibility to thousands of cries, either not heard, or muffled and camouflaged by the associated fear, shame, and guilt.

Creation of the immersive installation intends a dual function. On the one hand, it is a retrospective of the phenomenon through the perception of numerous protagonists. On the other hand, ‘Open Your Mouth – a manifesto’ intends to be a catalyst for measures that contribute to the reduction of violence against women, a driver for change and for the promotion of gender equality in the fields of family, social, political, and economic life.