The Art Connect Society (ACS) is a network that aims to “connect communities through engagement with contemporary art,” in the words of founder and director Valentine Svihalek, a Brno-based artist. The collective is currently curating the Safe Spaces project, an initiative encompassing a series of activities, including exhibitions and workshops, aimed at empowering women in communities worldwide.
Earlier this year, ACS launched a survey, the ‘100 Women’ Safe Spaces Questionnaire, collecting testimonies from women about their experiences of violence and abuse. ACS uses the anonymised data collected from the survey to inform their initiatives, in order to foster solidarity and raise awareness within networks of women, mothers, and caregivers. The survey is still open to responses here, for anyone who identifies as a woman and lives in the Czech Republic.
As part of the project, ACS also hosted a panel discussion on 16 July in Brno’s Kumst art space, which has since been released on the Art Sisters Podcast.
The testimonies collected via the survey will also be presented through artistic translation at the society’s next event: Safe Spaces International, an exhibition highlighting the deeply personal stories of women who have survived domestic violence, through their words, work, and creativity. The opening ceremony will take place in Prague on 7 November at 6pm, at the GRAM event space on Záhřebská in Vinohrady.
The opening program includes dancing, painting, and musical performances. The exhibition will feature a number of interactive elements, and installations including ‘The Birth’ by British artist Ellie Shipman, and Valentine Svihalek’s ‘Leave Your Mark: Find Your Voice’, which is based on the 100 Women project.
All proceeds from the sale of the works will be donated to the Rosa Center for Women, an organization providing essential services to women that have undergone abuse. “The Safe Spaces exhibition is not only an artistic presentation but also an act of solidarity that reminds us that all women have the right to be safe—physically, emotionally, and mentally,” said Svihalek.
A book about the community, entitled ‘Safe Spaces’, will be released from 7 November, coinciding with the event. More information about the project can be found on the ACS website.
