Myths and Mirrors is a multidisciplinary arts organization in Sudbury, ON. They are currently facilitating a really unique arts initiative called The Swan Project. While Myths and Mirrors offers a fantastic range of programming aimed at all members of the community, this project in particular caught my attention as it engages a group we don’t often hear from. Read on to find out more about this project that aims to give sex workers a voice…
– Cora, Indigenous Community Arts Coordinator & Communications Assistant, ArtBridges

« This community art project is being created in partnership with Sex Workers Alliance Network Sudbury. Women with lived experience in sex work, and their allies, who are committed to building safer and more inclusive communities for sex worker peers are working with Community Artist and Myths and Mirrors’ Artistic Director, Sarah King Gold to artistically express aspects of themselves through visual story boxes. The outside of each box represents the artist’s public self while the interior spaces represent their private world.

Sarah King Gold says:
The project originated through a previous partnership with SWANS’ coordinator, Tracy Gregory and us for a 2012 project. This project was called Metal Works and explored the meaning of work in our lives. At the time Tracy was working at Northern Initiative for Social Action, an organization that provides services and opportunities for community for people who identify as consumer survivors (people who have come through the mental health system). Tracy then went on to lead SWANS and she and I wanted to work together again. For a long time I have wanted to work with sex workers as I believe their voices are seldom, if ever, heard from in mainstream society. The project is currently in progress so the outcome it not clear just yet. My hope is that we will be able to exhibit the boxes in many venues to make their voices heard by many people. My hope is that people will have an opportunity to see these women as human beings and not just sex workers. The focus of the boxes is around their personal lives, to demonstrate that they are mothers, sisters, daughters and have similar joys and desires as most people in the world and that the difference is mostly the profession they have or have had which has been stigmatized by our society. My hope is for people to see their power and strength and wisdom and to view them as multi-faceted human beings. 

The art work is now in progress. The first exhibit of this in progress work was held at APANO’s International Women’s Appreciation event held March 3rd and will be presented again at SWANS Building Inclusive Communities Conference in June. For more info about the work of SWANS click here. »

Posted with permission from Blaire Flynn, Myths and Mirrors
Read Myths and Mirrors’ profile on ArtBridges’ Community-Engaged Arts Directory and Map
All photos courtesy of Myths & Mirrors