Final Major Project:
Domestic Violence Stories Threaded
Campaign Director
Purpose
A campaign to raise awareness of an issue kept hidden within my community and the culture that I belong to. When this chance came to self-direct a project, I knew I wanted to base it on something that was part of my identity, and that was my culture and background. I wanted to talk about something that was seen as 'shameful' or 'embarrassing' that can ruin the reputation of an individual or family. And that would be discussing the issue of Domestic Violence.
It became an opportunity to see Domestic Violence through the lens of South Asian victims who have left behind their case studies or those who are still with us today advocating change. This campaign has been one of the most important projects I self-directed, as it was when Domestic Violence was spoken of as a National Emergency in the UK in March 2020, with the Covid-19 Lockdown.
Campaign Summary
I created a video about the campaign to show how it came together from research to outcomes.
Billboard
Here are the exhibition posters, with the address of where it'll take place.
Newspapers
The EastEnd Life is a community-based newspaper, which reports bews within East London with a predominantly South Asian community.
The London Evening Standard covers nationally. Using both a community and national paper, I would be maximising awareness.
The Weaving Workshops
To create the blanket, I had planned to hold weaving workshops within local communities in different parts of London where I would reach a South Asian Community. I wanted to create a safe environment for women to discuss the issue freely by coming together while working on a weaving activity.
To reach my intended audience, I thought of producing a short TV ad for a channel called Colours. The TV channel is popular in the UK and the community because it airs dramas and reality TV shows set in India.
Billboards
For the weave workshop billboards, I made the portraits seem unfinished and the colour white to contrast the exhibition billboards.
Social Media
Using different Social Media platforms to best reach the audience.
Domestic Violence Stories: Threaded
The brainstorming and commitment of this campaign started in February 2020. From this, the outcomes were to be the blanket and the exhibition to happen as part of my submission for my self-directed unit. However, with the sudden Lockdown, creating something physical with materials and tools was dashed. And the needs of people.
This project had been about perseverance and resilience throughout months of isolation and minimal guidance. It has been a challenging yet eye-opening experience where I have been understanding more of my capabilities and broadening my creativity to problem-solve outcomes on what could have been pre-COVID.
