RainLily's Weaving Meanings Together initiative is raising funds to support connection and mutual empowerment of sexual violence survivors—and has enlisted the help of singer-songwriter Serrini and local Hong Kong artist Stephen Wong
In 2017, as the #MeToo movement gathered momentum, a handful of sexual violence survivors in Hong Kong started to speak out. RainLily's Arise—Sexual Abuse Survivors' Portraits exhibition empowered five survivors to express themselves through photographs and human library sessions, which aim to provide a safe space for conversations. There were also media interviews where they shared their stories of transformation, from surviving trauma to living with confidence and strength. This initiative not only encouraged other survivors to seek help, but went a long way to breaking the taboo—and the silence—that surrounds the topic.
It wasn't the first programme that Hong Kong's sexual violence crisis centre RainLily, which was founded in 2000, had pioneered to not only redefine the term 'survivor' and support those who have experienced sexual violence in different ways, but also to encourage greater public understanding and allyship. And it wouldn't be the last.
Weaving Meanings Together is RainLily's latest programme and it aims to connect survivors in a safe space for mutual empowerment where they can face traumas together, seek justice and cultivate a supportive environment, while also breaking away from the simplified narrative that often represents them as either 'tragic victims' or 'brave survivors'.
The furoshiki designed by artist Stephen Wong
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To raise funds for the programme, RainLily has been working with Hong Kong singer-songwriter Serrini, who agreed to match any donations in support of RainLily's programmes between 13 and 27 August, thereby doubling the impact. This first phase saw RainLily raise around HK$420,000 in donations.
With a total fundraising target for this programme of HK$600,000, RainLily is also working with artist Stephen Wong Chun Hei. The painter has created a furoshiki, a multi-purpose wrapping cloth that can be used in a variety of ways, from wrapping clothes for trips, to serving as gift wrapping, a tablecloth or a picnic rug, and also a series of postcards. The artwork for both is taken from his A Hundred Islands series, for which he painted images of 100 small islands in his signature palette of saturated colours. On each island there a person either camping, entertaining themselves of facing loneliness, the latter something that has only increased since the pandemic.
"Under different circumstances and conditions, some people meditate, some are upset, some are having fun, and some are at ease; but even when we are disconnected, everyone still shares the same sky and sunset," says Wong of the series of artworks.
