Communities systematically pushed to the margins often use art as a way to push back against the silencing and exclusion. For SWANS, art is a weapon to protect and defend each other, a tool to build and strengthen our own communities; art is a resource to advocate for and empower ourselves and each other; art helps us to bring our stories into the wider community conversations where we are often denied meaningful inclusion. This year’s FAAS theme is “Neighbourhood” and it is being held on Kathleen Street, an area where many SWANS community members live and work. We are very excited to collaborate with Myths and Mirrors on creating this installation, exploring the real possibilities of belonging in our neighbourhood. So please come and meet us under the red umbrella: a prominent, central, safe space for sex workers and others who are usually excluded in the neighbourhood. A place for basic needs like toilet, water; a place for relaxation, for creation, for support, for beauty; a place for sharing ideas, stories, and food. A place of possibilities.
