Recognise. Identify. Articulate.

Sexual Violence Mind Map
Madeby 16 year old high school students in Bangalore.
New words emerge.
"Pantsing + Pungi"

To book a workshop for high school students, with Blank Noise in India, email in at blurtblanknoise@gmail.com, and we will get back to you.

Creating Action Heroes : Change The Way We Create and Perceive Women's Experience With Violence

The images above are frequently used by the press in India to report violence against women. The images are unwanted.
Because it perpetuates the narrative of victimhood
And closes a conversation.
Because it is stale
And reinforces a reality we need to change through the power of our imagination.

Above images researched by Mihika Row, Maria George, Madhulika Mohan and Nikhila Nanduri. Students from the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.


Do you have a personal, desired, imagined, or lived ‪'Action Hero' response to experiences of sexual violence?

Make a sketch. Bring on its colours. Send it to blurtblanknoise@gmail.com 

It could be witty. angry. sad. calm. thoughtful.

Be you - unfiltered. This is your song.

Revisit a scenario. Imagine a response.

Guidelines and parameters:
It could include text saying NO and or I Never Ask For It .

Your visual response to building Action Heroes could take the form of a comic strip, poster, a series of facebook profile photos, gifs, stickers.

Blank Noise will host the archive. 
You are the author and creator.

What are the desired possible future of this project:
i) Select images could be a gift to press stock images, so that 
they can use these images instead of the 'crouched shamed victim' - the story that is told and perpetuated. 

ii) Making new imagery could inspire new narratives.
This is your script. Imagine. Desire. Create.
Assert. Insert. Occupy. Action Hero Imagery.
Hosted on the blank noise page/ website/ blog
Select imagery could be on t shirts, posters, walls.

It will be a reference and archive of desired responses

iii) We can ideate more possible desired futures of this project together. Send in your thoughts)

Guidelines to consider

* Definition of 'Action Hero'?
- Believes there is no excuse for sexual violence. 
- Refuses victim blame; to blame or be blamed.
- Takes agency and collective ownership to end sexual violence
- Fights fear
- Negotiates risk
- Is self confrontational- questions her/ his/ their bias and values.
- Seeks peaceful, non violent ways of tackling sexual violence.

Deadline. March 3rd. 2016

Submission requirement:
Medium- no restriction
Size- . (not strict but preferable 6 + inches width, 300 DPI, RGB Mode).
Format- JPEG / TIFF
Add a title
Add your name : Action Hero ____
Email : blurtblanknoise@gmail.com

With love,
Blank Noise Team

For your reference:  Showcasing Action Hero Rhea Daniel contribution from 2010. Her work has inspired and triggered this call for action. 

Meet To Sleep, Bangalore

Created by Action Hero Viji Chari
in response to her experience with
Meet To Sleep

" This was the second Meet To Sleep event I attended. Both time with my little daughter. And this time was really different from the first - here's how: 

The first time I did it for myself and for my child. I couldn't sleep, I had a book and a sheet to feel safe. And i was very self conscious. The space was beautiful and I did end up dozing off in the winter sun but woke up to every sound. 

The second time I did it for a larger cause. And my way of participating was to challenge myself. So no book, no sheet. I stared at the longest time at the lovely canopy and then fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. 

What really helped was Jasmeen's briefing at the start. Where the intent was communicated so well. And at the end, the sharing was longer and helped connect to the movement mot deeply. It was weird and yet so natural that a group of strangers felt a sense of safety in each others' presence. 

When my 11-year old daughter was hearing the adults share, she kept whispering back to me, "what is the big deal about sleeping in a park". While she may be too young to understand this, my hope is that with movements such as these, she would continue to ask this question even as an adult woman living in India.  "

2016

To our Blank Noise community

Our celebrated Action Heroes, both near and far

Here's wishing you a fearless 2016! 

A year of dialogue, imagination, desire.

A year closer to ending victim blame 

A year of solidarity and kindness.

Happy New Year! 

We continue to work with full force towards building a large scale installation of garments to end victim blame.  In 2016, we look forward to research, collaborations, workshops, talks , interventions,  live action, fund raisers, new projects and much more. We look forward to working with you. Sign up to volunteer and or intern with Blank Noise in 2016.

Shout out to the Fabulous Action Heroes in 2015. 

Here's to you! 

Aarushi Kilawa

Aayush Bhingare

Abhishek Baxi 

Abhishek Chaudhury

Abhisikta Dasgupta

Akila K

Akash Nandi

Amalie Vikse

Ameya Gutta

Amrita Ganguly

Anandi Sharan

Annie Zaidi 

Anubhav Pradhan   

Anukriti Singh

Aru Bhartiya

Asfiya Farheen

Atreyeee Majumdar

Benjamin Stewart

Bhawana Udhani

Chirag Sharma

Denisse Albornoz

Divya Gulecha

Diya Pinto

Farya Lokhandwala

Garima Gupta 

Geetu George

Ila Bhat

Insiya Poonawala

Inti Maria

Ishani Ghose

Jayati Sood 

Jesril Bastina

Judith Druhe

Kaustubh Srikanth

Kinnary Doshi

Kiri Meili

Kunal Kiran

Lakshmi Kakodkar

Lijya Perayil 

Mahesha Hiremath

Malin Mendel Westberg

Malini Roy

Manpreet Singh 

Maria del Rio Sanin

Maria Emille Burge

Meenal Jain

Megha Bhagat

Mishaal Shetty

Monica Nanjunda

Naksha Erappa

Nandini Nagarajan

Neeha Mujeeb

Nia Chari

Nirbheek Chauhan

Ojasvi Singh

Palak Khandelwal

Parul Khanna

Pragati KB

Pushpa Achanta

Dr. Preeti Chawla

Preeti Govindraja

Priloza

Pooja Kumar
Radhika Sinha 

Rajalakshmi Rajagopal

Rashi Sinha

Rishita Nandagiri 

Ritu Ganguli 
Rupali Arora 

Saptarshi Chakraborty

Satya Gummuluri 

Satyashree Sethia

Sayali Patwardhan

Seema Nair

Shailaja

Shilpa Goyal

Shreyansh

Shruti Chandrashekharan

Shristi Banerjee

Silvana Rigobon

Sufiya Jay

Suhas Gokul

Sunayana Roy

Sukriti Suryavanshi

Supriya

Suruchi Sharma

Swati Khaitan

Tashu Puri 

Teresa Gomes   

Tharunya Balan

Viji Chari

Vira Mistry 

Wolfram Thurm

Yamini Deen

Yasmeen Taj S

(incase we missed you, please report)

Meet To Sleep : January 16th 2016

Meet To Sleep 
Pune 
Bangalore 
Jaipur 
Delhi 

"I want to 'Meet To Sleep' because in three years, I've never been in a public space without being afraid for my safety. I want to reclaim this city and the places that are as much mine as they are anybody else's." - Action Hero Avani Tandon Vieira

"' Meet To Sleep' asks us to replace our fear with trust, and it's not an easy thing to do. It will be my first experiment with trust, and I'm excited to see how it goes."- Action Hero Kat Lieder 

Lahore 
Karachi 
Islamabad
Bombay

Goa

" I must admit the thought of not being in control in a public park petrifies me and it is precisely because of that that I'd like to do this." - Action Hero Chryselle

Take a Saturday Siesta.

Alone or with a group.

With your best friend

With a stranger

Sleep. Alone. Together.

Fight Fear. 

Through Trust.

In sleep we protest.

January 16th .  2 : 30 -  5: 30 pm!

Meet To Sleep - would you Meet To Sleep where you are?

Get in touch and we will be sure to match you with an Action Hero in your location.

Detailed guidelines and exact location will be emailed on confirmation.

Also joined by Girls At Dhabas, Pakistan and Action Heroes in Pune, Bombay, Bangalore, Delhi , Jaipur and Why Loiter Mumbai.

Occupy in sleep.

Email in blurtblanknosie@gmail.com

Exact location and event guidelines will be shared on confirmation.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Brief report of Meet To Sleep ( November 2014- December 2015)

Total number = 11

Location: Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Jaipur, Delhi

Total Number of people: 55 Action Heroes

Meet to Sleep with Interim class in November 2014 (Bangalore)

Akash Nandi, Aayush Bhingare, Diya Pinto, Manpreet Singh, Radhika Sinha, Rajalakshmi Rajagopal, Rashi Sinha

Swati Khaitan

Meet to Sleep Bangalore (published on blog on 12th December 2014):

Lijya Periyal , Shilpa Gopal, Vira Mistry

Meet to Sleep with why loiter (Mumbai) January 2015:  

Sameera Khan , Shilpa Phadke, Shilpa Ranade

Meet To Sleep Mumbai (January 2015)

Meghna Bohidar, Rishita Nandagiri, Nilima, Shilpa Phadke, Aradhna , Shilpa's mum

Meet to Sleep Pune (January 2015)

Hrutika Patole, Naksha Erappa

Meet to Sleep Bangalore Jan 11th 2015:

Bhawana Udhani, Diya Pinto, Judith Druhe, Lijya Perayil, Malin Mendel Westberg, Maria Emilie Burger, Monica Nanjunda, Nia Chari, Shilpa Goyal, Viji Chari, Wolfram Thurm

Meet to Sleep Bangalore Feb 28 2015:

Bhawana Udhani, Lijya Perayil, Maria Emille Burger, Monica Nanjunda, Rishita Nandagiri, Satya Gummuluri, Shruti Chandrashekharan, Yamini Deen

Meet to Sleep Bangalore (April 2015)

Benjamin Stewart, Inti Maria, Kaustubh Srikanth, Vira Mistry

Meet to Sleep Jaipur (November 28th):

Aarushi Kilawat, Meenal Jain , Palak Khandelwal, Parul Khanna , Satyashree Sethia, Sukriti Suryavanshi, Supriya

Meet to Sleep Pune (November 28th):

Ameya Gutta, Sayali Patwardhan 

Meet to Sleep Bangalore (November 28th):

Anandi Sharan, Asfiya Farheen, Diya Pinto, Kiri Meili, Mahesha Hiremath, Pragati KB,, Seema Nair, Shailaja, Silvana Rigobon, Sufiya Jay, Tharunya Balan. Vira Mistry. Wolfram Thurm, Yasmeen Taj S

Section 377. I Never Ask For It .

Students, now 'Action Heroes' at Srishti Institute Of Art Design and Technology worked with Blank Noise through the Interim Semester in 2014. Action Heroes walked the Bangalore Pride, 2014 asking the question  " What do you wish for?  What do you dream of ? What do you ask for ?"

" Everyone is entitled to live a life of dignity. Humiliation is what we're fighting against.
Our demand before the parliament is that the law needs to be repealed. We need to ensure that the Union Of India moves to repeal this particular law. ..and when this law goes... a social attitude is transformed, and that is our objective. " - Arvind Narrain.

*

Siddarth Narain examines blame through the I Never Ask For It text series.

" For those who are lucky to have supportive family, liberal peer groups, exposure to support

groups, or LGBT communities, the feeling of guilt is gradually replaced with that

of pride, pride in being different.

Coming to terms with one’s sexuality and the norms and practices of one’s community is a life long project. Part of this process is to recognize and deal with the phenomenon of victim-blame. I.e. the impulse to blame oneself, or someone from one’s own “community” for being at the receiving end, violence or stigma. If we are not careful, this then becomes an easy narrative, hiding more structural

problems of discrimination. "

*

Send a garment you wore when you experienced any form of sexual or gender based violence/ discrimination. Be a force to end victim blame. I Never Ask For It. 

Action Hero Abhishek
New Delhi, India

Once, while walking out of the college, a group of men followed me till the Metro station. They all were whispering but their giggles let out insulting gestures and they seemed 'amused' by me. One of them followed me till the inside and then I knew, it was enough.

I turned back to the perpetrator, something that we are ingrained to dodge and asked what his 'problem' was. I didn't seem very entertaining to him after that.

"I like dressing in colours, in different styles that could are often dubbed as 'weird for a boy' or are seen as gender subversive but even when I do dress in the simplest gender conforming clothes, something as simple as a red and white checked shirt, things don't always change. I still often find myself in a web of stares and unsaid questions on the streets but I pledge not to loose my colours. They are here to stay and so am I.

Be a force to end victim blame. I Never Ask For It.

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