November 2020
WCM begins researching and documenting the experiences of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and children born of war. In the initial stage of the project, specific needs are assessed and the WCM’s methodology is modified in cooperation with the project partners, the Forgotten Children of War Association, the Wings of Hope Foundation, and the IOM BiH, enabling the recording of first video testimonies of CRSV survivors and children born of war.
December 2020
Full scope of the project and stages of implementation are determined, signaling the beginning of several months of documenting the experiences of CRSV survivors and children born of war in three distinct ways: by recording video testimonies featuring both survivors and children, by collecting personal belongings and documenting stories of children born of war, and by facilitating the creation of artworks at a “body mapping” workshop, with CRSV survivors as participants.
February 2021
Project team, consisting of the WCM team and Museum’s long time associate, clinical psychologist Lejla Smajic, receives training on the body mapping methodology, a form of art therapy that provides alternative means for survivors to share their traumatic experiences, which was provided by experts from the International Coalition of the Sites of Conscience (ICSC). Following the training, and under the ICSC guidance, this distinct methodology is, for the first time, adapted by the project team for work with survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and children born of war, as well as within a specific regional context.
May 2021
Body mapping workshop is held over the course of four days, resulting in CRSV survivors creating 12 distinct artworks, which depict life-sized representations of themselves, surrounded and inscribed with their experiences from different periods of life. Simultaneously, the project team is finalizing the processes of documenting video testimonies and personal stories, preparing to select materials to be featured in the Exhibition.
June 2021
“Speaking Out” Exhibition opens to the wider public for the first time on June 25, at the New Temple Gallery, in Sarajevo.
September 2021
Exhibition travels to Mostar Cultural Center on September 20. For the duration of the Exhibition, the WCM’s educators hold a range of peacebuilding workshops for secondary school and university students from nearly a dozen educational institutions in Mostar.
October 2021
On October 2, “Speaking Out” travels abroad for the first time, opening as the central event of the wartime sexual awareness week marked at the Endžio HAB in Belgrade
November 2022
“Speaking Out” for Legal Recognition of Children Born of War opens at the Sarajevo City Hall.
July 2023
“Speaking Out” exhibition shown at The Memory Studies Association (MSA) conference in Newcaste.