Dolls4Peace Memorial

Rochele Royster

doi:10.15845/voices.v21i1.3153

Abstract

This community/art based participatory research project encompassed communal art making practices (art as therapy) to build community, heal and resist systemic oppression and community violence, as well as promote self-care, empowerment, and a sense of purpose. Using an ecological model, participants engaged in community-based art therapy to build and heal communities impacted by gun violence. This "Doll Project" developed as a grassroots approach to arts-based social change—an ongoing cycle of creation, reflection and action with the hope to create a wave of healing and understanding through impacted Chicago communities. This process was intended to engage communities and embody the use of creativity to shift power and flatten hierarchies, largely by building up leadership of those most impacted by violence. The art of doll making was used to memorialize victims of gun violence in the city in record-high years of murders, while simultaneously creating a memorial of resistance, and initiating community-based adaptive change practices for social equity, connectedness, and liberation. Two questions are highlighted by this research: How does gun violence impact school communities within largely isolated, marginalized urban communities? How can we best support those who witness and survive gun violence?

Highlights

Normalizing Gun ViolenceA bullet pierced through my window just after dusk, shattering what little bit of safety and control I believed I had as a mother
The circle became a healing space for students to talk about their fears and intentions around death and gun violence
Participants used the space to remember relatives and friends shot and killed in Chicago. They used the space to create a memorial for 447 victims slain by gun violence within the year of 2015–2016

Summary

Introduction

A bullet pierced through my window just after dusk, shattering what little bit of safety and control I believed I had as a mother. As I was cleaning up dishes on a breezy Chicago night, I heard 16-20 gunshots in rapid succession. A piercing whistle accompanied the shots, and I was certain my living room window had been struck. “You good?” followed by a breathless “Did you get hit?” a male voice in my front yard hollered. Another male voice in my neighbor's yard shouted, “I’m good”.

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Conclusion