The Pieces project was a collaboration between LIF and stART Community Artists and supported by the Compassionate Friends. It was funded by the Australian Council of the Arts.
The Pieces project involved families bereaved through suicide who worked collaboratively with community artists to develop, and express, their own story about their loss. Each story takes on its own dimensions and is expressed through a number of different mediums, from video to sculpture to drawings.
The aim of the project was to raise community awareness about suicide but in a creative and accessible way and we found that was simply through telling our stories through art.
The impact of the project for participants can be summed up by the comments of CK. She states:" I am grateful to have been involved in this project. It was a way for me to acknowledge my brother and the pain of his suicide publicly, and to move towards further healing. The exhibition was a success and was an extraordinary experience, even though each piece was filled with so much pain and sorrow, there was also an amazing beauty and love for those who left us. The hardest part was to say goodbye to each piece and I do hope that the exhibition will come to life again elsewhere."
In terms of public awareness, we had around 400 visitors over the 10 days of the Exhibition and people were invited to comment in our Visitors Book. We had over 70 entries. Below are several selections, chosen at random, but reflective of the general themes expressed....
"I came in Silence, and left in Peace. This Exhibition has made me feel alive again" (GA)
"Amazing Exhibition, very special collection" (ES)
"Thankyou for sharing and opening the discussion. I am so moved and inspired." (CL)
"It has been a privilege to view this Exhibition. Thankyou" (EM)
"I feel so much gratitude towards the artists for sharing their grief through their expression of love. I too can feel the grief of losing a fellow human being, that they couldn’t see the beauty of life through their despair. Their spirit lives on in these beautiful pieces of work. Thankyou" (M)
Pieces Exhibited on 14-24th November 2010 at 270 Church St Richmond.
