Women’s crafts, paintings displayed at Image Factory

From the dance floor on Wilson Street, it was a short hop to the exhibition floor on North Front Street where the interlocking worlds of work and artistic expression were on display at the Image Factory.

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
It?s called ?She means We?, the official exhibition of Women?s Week in Belize. The show features the work of more than twenty individual artists, as well as pieces of lesser known creators from cultural and community organisations and even from the female inmates of the Hattieville Prison.

According to Carol Fonseca, the collection of art and crafts is the result of collaboration by the Image Factory, the Women?s Department, and the Pilgrimage Foundation.

Carol Fonseca, Director, Women?s Department
“The whole theme of Women?s Week is “Women Embracing Leadership with Vision”. And under that theme comes the whole area of empowerment of women and participation of women. And really, an art exhibition like this is all about empowering women. A lot of the women here, especially in the Women?s Group, use their handicraft in order to sustain themselves. It?s a means of survival, it gives them economic and financial independence; and that is really what empowering women is all about. We are hoping that in doing this it will allow, especially our young girls to realise that they too can become a part of this process. And so we are hoping that we really embrace them into this and make them realise it?s so important for you in this day and age to become economically and financially independent.”

“Certainly I want to wish all our women throughout our length and breadth of this country a happy Women?s Week and we?d like to encourage everybody to participate in all of the activities that are being held throughout the country.”