AN art exhibition titled In Her Shoes will kick off a renewed local fundraising effort for a Cambodian group that cares for girls and women rescued from trafficking.
The Tuncurry exhibition, being organised by local identity Amy Heague, will feature a range of works, including photography and mixed media, created by local professional women artists and school groups, centred on the theme of feet and shoes.
The exhibition is intended to tap into the symbolic power of shoes for women in our culture, says fundraising organiser and Lakeside Christian Outreach Centre member Kerrie Moran.
We tend to think that if you “give a girl the right shoes she can conquer the world,” Kerrie says, but things are a bit different in countries like Cambodia.
So the exhibition is just one element of a campaign to raise awareness and funds for an organisation in Cambodia called She Rescue that cares for girls who have been rescued from some form of trafficking and who have to be protected from the threat of being re-trafficked.
Another element of the campaign will be an all-woman bike ride through Cambodia next year.
Kerrie is hoping that between 10 and 20 women will take part in the nine-day ride, which will include stops to provide voluntary help to homes and orphanages along the way.
The In Her Shoes exhibition attempts to tell the stories of women in Cambodia in a non-confronting way, she says.