Barry domestic abuse survivors to host new art exhibition

The exhibition will come at the end of a series of workshops and courses with professional empowerment photographer Steffi Andrews.

Steffi has already supported the charity for the last year and regularly helps with fundraising events, acting as an advocate for the work that Vale Domestic Abuse Services do. Learning photography skills was a ‘game changer’ for her and she has found ways to utilise it for good in everyday life – she simply wants to help other women do the same.

Over the course of eight weeks, participants will learn how to tell their story through a series of images and the medium of creative photography to show audiences another side of domestic violence survivors – one where they tell their stories of resilience and strength.

Steffi Andrews will be lending her extensive skillset to the course (Image: Facebook)The group currently runs a series of wellbeing and aftercare programmes to provide a support network to survivors, but this initiative is the first time they have ever done an event on this scale.

Charlotte Archibald, from Vale and Domestic Abuse Services, said: “These are women who have come to us and are in the process of rebuilding their confidence and self-esteem.

“The reason we’re doing it is because it’s a creative outlet that gives the opportunity for the women in our survivor network to learn a new skill and be creative.”

Vale and Domestic Abuse Services are currently looking for photography cameras to be able to help them achieve this project and exhibition successfully.

The more donations they receive, the ‘more women can take part’.

Before the exhibition can take place, the group needs camera donations (Image: Facebook) Charlotte said: “We’re a charity with limited means and we don’t have any central or sustainable funding, so we fundraise and complete grant applications to be able to provide services like this.”

She urges anybody who ‘might have a camera lying in the back of a drawer’ to think of them before throwing it away, so that they can prolong the longevity of the course and be able to provide the service for new participants in future years.

The exhibition will take place in November at Art Central Gallery in Barry and marks 16 Days of Activism, a period that raises awareness of gender-based violence against women and girls internationally.