COURTESY OF CLOTHESLINEPROJECT.ORG
WEST BARNSTABLE – The Cape Cod Clothesline Project is returning to Cape Cod Community College next week.
The project, which was started on the Cape in 1990, gives women who have been affected by violence a way to display their stories and emotions.
Women design t-shits and hang them on a public clothesline to physically “turn their back on” and symbolically “walk away” from their experiences.
“It is an amazingly powerful display,” said Cape Cod Community College Spokesman Michael Gross. “It’s very colorful – very moving.”
Gross said that it is hard to describe with words and is something that needs to be seen in person.
“The only thing I can liken it to is if you have ever been to the wall in Washington, the Vietnam memorial,” Gross said.
The clothesline will be on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8 at the Tilden Arts Center. The display will extend outside the building, weather permitting.
“Each t-shirt has its own unique message,” Gross said. “Some are amazingly poignant. Some are very angry. Some actually show compassion for the perpetrator.”
Gross said having the clothesline on display is not just helpful for the victims but also the students and the staff of the college.
“This on our campus is also another way for us to help educate our students and our community about things that should never happen,” he said.
The event is sponsored by the college’s Honors Colloquium class.
The organization believes there are more than 500 clotheslines around the world. There have been 50,000 to 60,000 t-shirts designed by women since the project began in 1990.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
Speak Your Mind