Thinking of You
The Hague, 03-28 June 2024
Thinking of You (The Hague, 2024), will be a landmark public art installation, taking place in The Hague in June 2024. It will be a homage to survivors of sexual violence in conflict around the world.
The installation is created by the artist Alketa Xhafa Mripa, working in close collaboration with the Mukwege Foundation, the Embassy of Kosovo in the Netherlands and the city of The Hague.
Introducing Thinking of You
The artist initially conceived the concept in response to the ongoing traumatization and social exclusion of survivors of sexual violence from the war in her native Kosovo. In 2015, the first Thinking of You exhibition was held in the football stadium in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, receiving international acclaim and attention.
The process of making the installation became an act of collective listening and healing, and the final installation was a homage to the estimated 20,000 survivors of sexual violence committed by the Serbian army in Kosovo.
Since the first iteration of Thinking of You, it has been Alketa's aim to take this installation to other countries and to collaborate in solidarity with survivors of conflict- related sexual violence. It is a powerful tool to advocate for justice and to touch people emotionally, intellectually, and politically.
Since its initial launch in Kosovo and subsequent installations, Thinking of You has become a global symbol of remembrance and solidarity with survivors of sexual violence.
Thinking of You (The Hague, 2024)
In 2024 Thinking of You will be installed in the Atrium of the city hall and along the avenue of trees on the Lange Voorhout - this time gathering dresses and skirts from survivors of conflict-related sexual violence across the world with support from SEMA, the Mukwege Foundation's global network of survivors.
Thinking of You (The Hague, 2024) aims to draw attention to the reality of sexual violence in conflict and its human consequences. It will challenge a wide audience to think more deeply about the lived realities of survivors around the world and mobilize key decision- makers to take stronger action in preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence.
This installation of Thinking of You (The Hague, 2024), is promoting the Mukwege Foundation's Red Line Initiative, inspired by Dr Denis Mukwege’s call for bold and new thinking to finally put an end to the wholly unacceptable use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The Red Line Initative is rooted in the belief that conflict-related sexual violence represents a violation of our shared humanity and can no longer be accepted as an unfortunate but unpreventable part of armed conflict.
With The Hague celebrated as the international city of peace and justice, there is no better place to present this exhibition. The installation coincides with International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on 19 June 2024.
Image courtesy of The Hague City Hall
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