Name of Project
SEMA Collective Memory Exhibition ‘We Are Speaking, Are You Listening?’
Artist
SEMA, the Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence
Country
Category
Date
2023
Facilitated/Produced by
Mukwege Foundation
Description
The Mukwege Foundation organised the first iteration of the SEMA Collective Memory Exhibition We Are Speaking, Are You Listening? at the Alliance Française in Nairobi, Kenya, from December 8-17, 2023.
The exhibition featured 28 art pieces from 13 countries and highlighted the vast spectrum of survivors’ experiences from the fight for accountability and justice, to the shame and pain of memory, to the healing journey of survivors and even to the joys of recovery. It included songs, poems, letters to children born as a result of conflict-related sexual violence, drawings, photos, documentaries, a virtual reality installation, and quotes by survivors.
16 SEMA members from 10 countries attended the opening and collectively performed their newly recorded song, Freedom is here. Jaqueline Mutere, SEMA member from Kenya, opened the exhibition with the reading of the poem We Rise, written on behalf of SEMA members.
The exhibition aimed to convey messages of memory and community and sustain the narrative, reflecting SEMA’s long-term commitment to multiple exhibitions, each highlighting different facets of collective memory work.
The video below highlights key moments from the exhibition, and the full exhibition catalogue is available below.