Townhouse

We Were There Too...

22 Apr - 02 May 2012

WE WERE THERE TOO...
22 April - 2 May 2012

Since the start of the revolution, hundreds of children under the age of 18 have been arrested, detained and tortured. At least 43 children (if not many, many more) have appeared before military courts without lawyers, and often without their parents’ knowledge. “Take a Stance” is a popular campaign for the protection of children that has been launched in response to this situation, to ensure that the children gain as much from the revolution as they have contributed to it.
On view at the Townhouse from April 22 – May 2, the exhibition “We Were There Too” is the first of the campaign’s initiatives. Intended to create a space where the children may speak for themselves, “We Were There Too” presents visual testimonies by children who have experienced a revolution that came to their streets – telling of their moments of hope, as well as moments of disappointment and despair. The exhibited paintings are the outcome of a series of workshops conducted by “Take a Stance” team members, which focused on discussions of their particular experiences during the revolution. These workshops were encouraged by five different NGOs the children frequent regularly.
Laws protecting children’s basic rights must be enforced. The children have seen much cruelty in a world of adults who have always claimed to know what’s best for them. This exhibition gives us a chance to hear, to see, to experience the revolution through the children’s eyes. To remember, that they were there too – that they are entitled to their share of the revolution.