"Hearing the Silence" Exhibition as a Place for Dismantling the Imagery of Violence

Abstrakti

In the end of 2026, we curated together with a visual artist Simi Ruotsalainen an exhibition on gendered violence as part of our research project "Artivism on Edges – Art, Activism and Gendered Violence" (Kone Foundation 2022–2026). Our curational decisions were motivated by dismantling of silence and shame associated with violence, activation of collective social agency, and exploration of possibilities for social encounter. In this reflection, we analyse three of works from the exhibition from the perspective of how they engage with and take a stance on issues of gender-based, intimate partner and sexual violence against women and trans people.