Exhale was a combined event and exhibition in the spring of 2021 presented by the Texas Tech Risk Intervention & Safety Education office in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. My involvement in the project included the creation of all branding and promotional materials, curation and installation of the art exhibition, and marketing of the event and exhibition. I also submitted a series of pop art illustrations to the exhibition.
Exhale’s call for artists was sent out to all Texas Tech students, staff and faculty. All art in the exhibition was submitted by survivors of sexual violence, though the themes of the pieces did not have to directly relate to their experience on the topic. 13 artists were represented in the final exhibition.
For my series, I created 3 pieces that were a commentary on Lubbock’s impending Proposition A public election to make Lubbock a “sanctuary city for the unborn”. This proposition was introduced to Lubbock’s city council after Planned Parenthood resumed operations in the city. My series focused on old-school ads on grocery store packaging to make points on how Proposition A was not based on precedent and would ultimately diminish the quality of needed sexual and reproductive healthcare in the city.
Exhale’s exhibition debuted during the Exhale event in April 2021. The exhibition ran through the following week’s First Friday Art Trail, so Lubbockites could also experience the artwork. Creating a space for Texas Tech survivors to share their voices was a powerful and moving experience.
