Western Canada’s Largest In-Person Conference on Domestic, Sexual & Family Violence
The REDress Project
The REDress Project focuses around the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The project has been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and the United States as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women who are no longer with us.
The original REDress Project, inspired by the exhibits of artist Jaime Black, aims to raise awareness of the social issues around missing and murdered Aboriginal women. She said:
“My current work: The REDress Project, focuses around the issue of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across Canada. It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The project seeks to collect 600 red dresses by community donation that will later be installed in public spaces throughout Winnipeg and across Canada as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women who are no longer with us. Through the installation I hope to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Aboriginal women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence.”
Mufty Mathewson, IACC Historian, determined that she did care and wondered what an 80+ year old might do to help. She decided that as a photographer she could take photos of red dresses. So she began. Mufty read more about the REDress project and learned that REDress means to “right a wrong.” She went to the nearest ‘next to new’ shop, bought three red dresses and began photographing them in different locations. After a month or so, Mufty posted several images on the IACC website and invited IACC members to join her. This was the beginning of the REdress Photography Project, a local spin on Jaime Black’s original REDress project.
Numerous IACC members have been taking photographs of red dresses since January 2015 to honour the memory of 1,181 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Members include: Brenda Jackson, Wendy Royer, Colleen Sayer, Fred Rushworth, Bob Royer, Mufty Mathewson, Hedy Bach, Heather Turner, Michael Frost, Linda Treleaven, Lynette Jonson, Quincey Deters, Steve Ricketts and Tina Cho.
The Ripples of Loss works are a vivid visual departure from Terry McCue’s previous practice. After an exchange with an artist friend (Mufty Mathewson), McCue became compelled to paint these intense, brilliantly coloured images to raise awareness about the missing and murdered Aboriginal Women of Canada.
The resulting sombre and striking works emit the ghostly forms of the women dressed in red in an ever-changing landscape. McCue reveals the women in traditional aboriginal ceremonial attire: Ojibwa Jingle Dance dresses, Plains Cree tunics and cloaks. The skeletons of their spirit animals accompany them—sometimes leading the way, facing the incoming storm.
Playing Against Gender-Based Violence
“Playing Against Gender-Based Violence” is an exhibit of independent video games about and against gender-based violence, presented by Dr. Caroline Bem and Kenzie Gordon from the University of Montréal as part of Dr. Bem's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded research project “Mapping the role of video games in sex education and the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence“. The interactive, playable exhibit presents games created by survivors and violence prevention advocates that explore consent, sexual and domestic violence, and the possibilities that games present for the violence prevention toolkit. No game experience needed!
Kenzie Gordon (she/her) is a social worker and settler scholar PhD candidate on Treaty 6 territory at the University of Alberta. Her research examines the intersections of video games and gender-based violence, and the role that video games can play in violence prevention movements. She is a research assistant with Dr. Caroline Bem at the University of Montréal on a project developing and analysing games for sexual health and gender-based violence prevention.
You can follow the work of the research project on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/
“Faces of Domestic Violence” An Arts-Based Knowledge Mobilization Project
“Faces of Domestic Violence” is a collaborative art-based project by Wendy Aujla, a University of Alberta doctoral student at the time, and artist Heidi Erisman. Building on Wendy's MA thesis titled, "Voicing Challenges: South Asian Immigrant Women Speak Out about their Experiences of Domestic Violence and Access to Services," the project uses visual art to share key research findings that may be echoed in other racialized communities.
Visual storyboards—accompanied by direct quotes from participants interviewed in the research study—are on display at the 25 th annual Diverse Voices Family Violence Conference. Alongside a short video presentation (1-2 minutes), the exhibit shares powerful
stories of pain, survival, resistance, and strength as seven women navigate complex help-seeking challenges. The full collection includes nine storyboards: one provides an overview of the project, seven illustrate the lived experience of the South Asian immigrant women who
participated in the study, and one additional piece honours South Asian women murdered due to domestic violence, emphasizing the urgent need for prevention.
By creating emotionally safe spaces for dialogue, this project has helped challenge silence and stigma around reporting domestic violence in cultural communities. It has encouraged survivors to reach out for help and prompted service providers to reflect on practices that may further harm vulnerable women. Since its inception in 2014, Faces of Domestic Violence has been featured in over 25 exhibitions and presentations across Canada, including at universities, community, and public forums. Though the research is now a decade old, the issues it surfaces—systemic racism, cultural pressures, immigration-related vulnerabilities, and service gaps—remain critically relevant today. This project demonstrates how art can amplify marginalized voices, evoke empathy, and foster accountability across systems and communities. Through this collaboration, research is not only shared—it is felt.
Wendy interviewed seven South Asian immigrant women to capture their narratives of abuse. Heidi, then read the thesis, listening closely for details in each woman’s story—such as the types of abuse, the abuser(s), the challenges in reporting to informal or formal sources, and the socio-demographic context. Through ongoing dialogue, Wendy and Heidi identified common threads and unique elements in each narrative, which informed the creation of seven symbolic representations.
The artistic interpretations bring these stories to life through visual storytelling, capturing the emotional pain and complexity of each woman’s journey and reflecting the personal struggles they endured. For ethical reasons, to protect the identity of the women, the paintings are not the real portraits of the women.
Included in the collection is a powerful painting dedicated to honouring the lives of South Asian women in Canada who have been murdered due to domestic violence. This piece stands as a reminder of the lives lost and the urgent need for continued awareness, prevention, and collective action.
Since 2014, the artwork has been showcased at events across Canada as part of the project’s knowledge mobilization efforts, helping to raise awareness and break the silence surrounding domestic violence.
The images on display are the property of Heidi Erisman and protected under Canadian Copyright laws. The paintings may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without written permission. All images are copyrighted © 2014 Heidi Erisman.
Heidi Erisman is a Registered Psychologist with extensive experience in culturally competent counselling and psychological research. With a Masters of Counselling from Athabasca University, and licensed by the College of Alberta Psychologists, she has provided therapy through Insight Psychological since 2019, specializing in trauma, domestic violence, and family relationships. Her early work with the Canadian Mental Health Association and The Support Network developed her foundation in crisis intervention and community-based mental health. A strong advocate for cultural awareness, Heidi has completed advanced training in multicultural counselling and Indigenous awareness, integrating these perspectives into her clinical practice. Her research background includes inquiry into counselling methods, assessment processes, and client change models. Beyond clinical work, she is an accomplished artist, using visual art to raise awareness about family violence and treating trauma.
Dr. Wendy Aujla is an Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice at Athabasca University. Her research focuses on gender-based violence, “honour-based” crimes, forced marriages, and the victimization of marginalized populations, particularly immigrant women. She has published and presented her work through conferences, media, and community events. Her community- engaged, applied research includes knowledge mobilization initiatives like Faces of Domestic Violence aimed at raising awareness. Dr. Aujla serves on the expert advisory panel for the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, and is a member of the Immigrant Family Violence Prevention Committee and the Criminal Justice Center for Advocacy, Research, and Education. She also held leadership roles with Diverse Voices – Western Canada’s largest Conference on Domestic Violence. Committed to building safer communities, she launched an annual gift card campaign for immigrant and refugee families fleeing abuse. Her leadership has earned recognition, including the Alberta Inspiration Award and the Peace in Families Award.
This art-based knowledge mobilization project explores themes of domestic violence, trauma, and survival. While it honours the resilience of victim-survivors and raises awareness, engaging with the content may be emotionally difficult for some. A smudge room has
been made available by the conference organizers for those who may need space for reflection or healing and a trauma-informed professional is on site for additional support.