Idaho State University Anderson Center to host art unveiling at Take Back the Night March and Rally on May 4

The May 4 Pocatello Take Back the Night March, organized so community members can show their support in the fight against sexual assault and domestic violence, will be held this year in coordination with the Old Town Art Walk and features a new route and an art installation.

The Anderson Gender Resource Center at Idaho State University, in close collaboration with Family Services Alliance (FSA), Old Town Pocatello Art Walk, Bannock County Sexual and Domestic Violence Task Force, Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, and Family Court Services Sixth District, is hosting Take Back the Night.

The new Take Back the Night March route will start at Family Service Alliance at 355 S. Arthur. Mayor Brian Blad will speak at Family Service Alliance and free T-shirts and drawstring bags will be distributed. The march will then go along Main Street to Old Town Pavilion where there will be free food, a free raffle, speakers, the art installation unveiling and live music from the band Blind Autumn.

The event is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. outside Family Service Alliance, with assembling and T-shirt distribution beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Building on the success of the monthly Old Town Friday evening Art Walks, the ISU Anderson Gender Resource Center is collaborating with local artist Anne Kratz on the community-based, collaborative art installation that will be unveiled.

An art installation is made up of several smaller works of art that come together to create a much larger piece and often has an interactive element that invites viewers to participate in the art in some way. For this art installation titled "Rebuild," Kratz worked together with allies and survivors of sexual, domestic and dating violence in the strengthening and renewal process of creating artwork.

The artwork has been created to expresses their stories, sends a message, paints a hopeful tomorrow or depicts a self-portrait. These stories have been incorporated into Kratz's art installation design, which includes a rock garden, drapery, and group wall mural within the house structure signifying the rebuilding of survivors’ lives.

Another purpose of this art installation is to help raise awareness to make Pocatello a safer and better place. The viewer is asked to show his/her support for survivors and interact with the installation by walking through and contributing a stone to the river rock garden located inside the structure. The installation will be displayed at the Pavilion and unveiled at Take Back the Night event. Kratz's project has been funded by a grant from Office on Women’s Health.

Funding for this project was made possible in part by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women's Health. The views expressed in written materials or publications and by speakers and moderators at HHS co-sponsored conferences, do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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