IT WILL BE COMPLETELY YOUR CHOICE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU WISH TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS
Welcome to Unbound, an empowering exhibition which combats sexual violence through various different art forms such as visual arts, films, poetry, music, and so much more. It is organised by two high school students Julia Dimaki and Elly Culucundis, enrolled in Campion School Athens, in collaboration with numerous teenage artists across Greece, as well as the world renowned MeToo movement and the already existing exhibition titled “What were you wearing?”.
This idea was formulated as a result of us having experienced both first hand but also having observed in our environments to a severe extent how common sexual violence has become, but more importantly, the harmful perspectives surrounding the sensitive topic, such as the appalling extent of victim-blaming, heavily based on the absurd notion of how provocative clothing justifies their gruesome acts, and also the issue of how victim’s experiences are undermined due to them not aligning with the stereotypes of what a victim ‘should’ look like. Fueled with the aim of fighting back and taking a stand, we came up with the idea “Unbound”, and with your help we hope to make a significant impact on Greek society.
What Were You Wearing
"What Were You Wearing" is an art display, which began in the United States, conceived by Jen Brockman and Dr. Mary Wyandt-Hiebert. The exhibition showcases attire worn by anonymous individuals who have experienced sexual assault. Premiering at the University of Arkansas on March 31, 2014, the project draws inspiration from Dr. Mary Simmerling's poem, "What I Was Wearing." With a collection featuring 40 outfits, the exhibit aims to counter the notion that provocative clothing is a contributing factor to sexual assault, challenging the prevalent stereotype of victim-blaming. This exhibition was then replicated all over the world, but notably in Washington, in collaboration with the UN by the Spotlight Initiative.
MeToo
The MeToo movement is a global movement which was created by activist and victim of sexual violence Tarana Burke in 2006, with the aim of encouraging victims to speak up about their experiences, and raise awareness on how dreadfully common and severe the issue truly is. The movement was then brought to Greece in January of 2021 as a result of the psychologist and double olympic gold medalist in sailing, Sofia Bekatorou. Bekatorou revealed her experience considering the issue and spoke about how she has also been a victim to sexual assault by a sports official of the sailing team when she was young. Her brave act empowered thousands of victims in Greece to speak up about their own stories and helped raise awareness of the reality of how often sexual violence occurs.