Shipping container exhibition in Butterfield Park tackles sexual violence
Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 5:00am

This fall, OCAD U students responded to the issue of sexual violence by participating in a workshop series that culminated as a traveling exhibition, Unknotted — the OCAD U activation of Sexual Assault: The Roadshow. Led by professor Lillian Allen and sexual assault activist Jane Doe, the exhibition features community-led art that responds to sexual violence across the province. It remains in Butterfield park through November 25.
Participating students, from across several disciplines, focused on building a nuanced understanding of social justice, oppression, consent culture and bystander intervention to resist and reimagine sexual violence in the OCAD U community. At the container, situated in Butterfield Park, visitors view an evolving fabric installation representing four grounding principles of by-stander intervention. Visitors can navigate the space and share an experience, ask questions, send a message or co-sign their commitment to responding to sexual violence, by tying written messages into the fabric of the installation.
The retrofitted container will travel on a flatbed truck to 15 cities/areas in Ontario over a three-year period. At each stop, local artists will work with anti-violence experts and community participants to create, curate and exhibit art that “talks back” to sexual assault.
The project was facilitated by Sheila Sampath, assistant professor in the Faculty of Design and creative director at The Public Studio and sponsored by OCAD U’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Working Group. The project was created and informed by OCAD U students Wil Brask, Leilah Dhoré, Morgan Elena, L-fy Delgado, Natalie Mark, Dana McCool, Khadijah Morley, Lizz Khan and Francis Tompkins.
Learn more about OCAD U’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Working Group.



This fall, OCAD U students responded to the issue of sexual violence by participating in a workshop series that culminated as a traveling exhibition, Unknotted — the OCAD U activation of Sexual Assault: The Roadshow. Led by professor Lillian Allen and sexual assault activist Jane Doe, the exhibition features community-led art that responds to sexual violence across the province. It remains in Butterfield park through November 25.
Participating students, from across several disciplines, focused on building a nuanced understanding of social justice, oppression, consent culture and bystander intervention to resist and reimagine sexual violence in the OCAD U community. At the container, situated in Butterfield Park, visitors view an evolving fabric installation representing four grounding principles of by-stander intervention. Visitors can navigate the space and share an experience, ask questions, send a message or co-sign their commitment to responding to sexual violence, by tying written messages into the fabric of the installation.
The retrofitted container will travel on a flatbed truck to 15 cities/areas in Ontario over a three-year period. At each stop, local artists will work with anti-violence experts and community participants to create, curate and exhibit art that “talks back” to sexual assault.
The project was facilitated by Sheila Sampath, assistant professor in the Faculty of Design and creative director at The Public Studio and sponsored by OCAD U’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Working Group. The project was created and informed by OCAD U students Wil Brask, Leilah Dhoré, Morgan Elena, L-fy Delgado, Natalie Mark, Dana McCool, Khadijah Morley, Lizz Khan and Francis Tompkins.
Learn more about OCAD U’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Working Group.

