Mesmerising modern slavery art exhibition
The team at Chester Cathedral has adopted the theme of Social Justice for many of its activities this Autumn. In particular, from October 10th -23rd, it has invited Sara Shamma to display her incredible Modern Slavery art exhibition in the Chapter House at Chester Cathedral. This has been made possible thanks to the support of Cheshire Police, Chester Cathedral Congregation, Chester Diocese and individual donors.
Sara Shamma’s work stems from her King’s Artist residency within the university’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. Through a series of interviews with modern slavery survivors and professionals in the field, Shamma familiarised herself with the issues. Avoiding the explicit and direct representation of events, she has created work that considers the psychological impact of survivor experience and her personal response to the issue. Many survivors suffer depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and damage to their lives, self-esteem and relationships with others and this is reflected in the art.
In addition to the exhibition, Chester Cathedral is organising a series of talks on Social Justice to book a place go to https://chestercathedral.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173603987/events/428289575 or to join online email deansoffice@chestercathedral.com. The penultimate one, on October 14th, will see The Rt Revd Alastair Redfern, Chair of The Clewer Initiative, speak via zoom on the subject of Slavery and Salvation.
It is hoped that as members of the public engage with the art and listen to Bishop Alastair, it will heighten their awareness of the trauma and prevalence of modern slavery in our society and the need for action and compassion.