Photography project to highlight fears women in Limerick face
A PHOTOGRAPHY series aimed at highlighting the fear women feel while walking on the streets of Limerick is currently underway.
'The Night Doesn't Belong To Us' aims to address the experiences of women who fear walking down the streets of Limerick at nighttime.
An initiative led by Eilís Walsh, Maria McSweeney and Julie McLoughlin, the project aims to amplify the voices of women from diverse backgrounds as well as age groups, who live in Limerick.
The project received funding from the Arts Council of Ireland's Agility Award.
The team will now capture the faces and stories of 50 women, after receiving over 150 responses from their initial call.
They are still looking for women over the age of 60 to take part in the initiative.
Photographer and co-founder of the project, Eilís Walsh, explained: “The idea is that we would speak to people of different ages because it shows that feelings of danger are common amongst teenagers, students, young women, mid to late age women, and that women could be doing any sort of activity when they're feeling unsafe. From walking their dog to meeting their friend after work, to traveling to the library as a student, to simply going to the shop for some milk or something like that.”
Speaking of the title of the initiative, she added: “We want to show that no matter what we do, women are unsafe at night time and the project is called The Night Doesn't Belong to Us because it does feel like these places at night time are inaccessible to women because they are unsafe. We want to highlight why is this the case and why we need to talk about it more.”
The three creatives will exhibit their work in July, at the People's Museum in Limerick.
“We've gotten around 50 women of all ages. But we kind of want to reach an older age group. We would photograph them in the same location at daytime and nighttime, so they would be required to be available for a day and night shoot. All participants who are chosen, will be paid.”
You can get in touch with the organisers via [email protected]