A POWERFUL exhibition was opened yesterday at Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre in Tralee.

The Centre launched an  exhibition titled ‘Through the Chair’ as part of the ongoing celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Centre.

This exhibition, opened by Deirdre Walsh of Radio Kerry, was undertaken by clients of the Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre.  Working together as a group each client recreated their experience of trauma and recovery through their chair.

Each chair depicts personal feelings and emotions telling a story of pain and suffering, hope and healing, in an artistic and creative way.

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The aim of ‘The Chair Project’, according to Alice Kavanagh who co-facilitated this project, is to raise awareness of the crime of sexual violence.

To tackle the shame, secrecy and ‘victim’ blaming, which often surrounds the crime of childhood sexual abuse & adult sexual violence.

The participants of ‘The Chair Project’ hope to dispel negativity and biased attitudes by displaying to the public their collection of vibrant and evocative chairs. They also hope that they can generate a conversation regarding sexual abuse and recovery in Kerry. Scroll down for photos…