Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
This community art gallery is designed to centre survivor voice and agency by providing a safely moderated creative platform where individuals can express their experiences, perspectives, and responses to sexual violence.
We want to foster community connection and increase awareness, and this gallery is a form of artistic advocacy which is accessible and safe for those who need it.
Submission type, artist description, themes, content warnings, artist credit / info…
We asked members the Dear Em community to submit designs representing the theme of empowerment, to be considered to feature on official Dear Em merchandise. The theme was left intentionally broad so that people could connect to it in their own way, without needing to share personal experiences of harm or trauma. The submissions we received each reflected a unique and powerful interpretation of ‘empowerment’. Here we are celebrating each of those incredible submissions, and sharing them with you in hopes they inspire and empower.
This slogan and visual design is inspired by the people around me. I’m surrounded by a diverse group of friends, family members and women from different cultures, religions and backgrounds who constantly hold me up and support me. This piece reflects the importance of community and the strength that comes from uplifting one another.
Using the graphic design skills I developed in level 2 design, I started by sketching a mock-up and planning the vision and purpose behind the tote before bringing it to life digitally. Through this design, I wanted to communicate the idea that everyone deserves to have women in their lives who encourage, empower, and lift them higher.
By Fatima Kaji
Own your pace, love your space
I painted this snail. I think snails are good to communicate slow and steady progress. They’re always moving forward at their own pace.
By Raeden Coutts
No artist statement - this piece speaks for itself.
My design explores empowerment through the idea of loving people not only in their brightest moments, but also in the seasons where they feel vulnerable, uncertain, or less “put together.”
The phrase “fall in love with my roots” is intentionally layered. On the surface, the flowers represent growth, beauty, joy, and the versions of ourselves we most confidently show to the world. But beneath flowers are roots, the unseen foundations that keep us alive through every season. The roots symbolise our histories, struggles, imperfections, identity, and inner selves.
To me, empowerment means creating relationships and communities where people are valued beyond appearances or achievements, in order to truly support one another through difficult seasons. When “winter” comes, we must learn to love the roots as much as the flowers.
I used mixed typography inspired by collage and cut-out lettering to reflect individuality and the uniqueness of every person’s voice and story. The floral elements soften the composition while reinforcing themes of healing, resilience, and growth. The statement 'fall in love with my roots' also has a duality about it - it serves as a love letter to myself and other ethnic girls in multicultural societies. It is not only an empowering statement, but a promise to myself and my heritage that I hope will resonate with others.
We are taught that softness and strength live on opposite ends of something. That to be gentle is to be fragile, and to be powerful is to be hard. But the women I know are both, all the time, in the same breath.
This design lives in that tension. The script is delicate, almost whispered - flowers pressed into bold letters that refuse to shrink. The softness doesn't undermine the strength. It is the strength.
I wanted to make something that felt like Dear Em; a reminder that you don't have to choose between being tender and being unbreakable. That in fact, the two were never opposites at all <3
By Ridha Parkar
I got inspired by our strength in silence and togetherness. Our painful lived experiences doesn't need to be a stained memory, if we keep supporting each other, we can turn that pain into strength. As long as we keep having each other's backs, we can do anything.
By Lara Chuo
Digital Art
Content warnings for abuse.
This piece focuses on the themes of sexual violence, harm, healing, recovery, anger, and resistance. This artwork was created by Leah Clarke, a 17 year old female. She can be contacted at leahlynne11@gmail.com
“My work represents the domestic abuse that was experienced in a relationship and family. The domestic abuse was horrific, but with the strengths of religious beliefs and new love coming together, it formed a new setting for the survivors to come to peace and regain new life.”
— Leah Clarke
Traditional Art: pencil on paper
These two pieces are on identity & self-exploration, by Annabel, who is a 15 year old female.
Text reads:
Whakapapa e here nei i ahau e i aku mātua tipuna
E mau ana te tiki i te mana o ngā tūpuna
Hei taonga pupuri mātauranga te hei tiki
Traditional Art: pencil on paper
Traditional Art
Content warnings for sexual violence (non-graphic), trauma, and death/grief/loss.
This zine touches on the themes of sexual violence, harm, healing, recovery, anger, & resistance.
This zine was created by Riley De Vaal, who is a 20 year old non-binary person who you can find @infestedwithfairies (on Instagram).
The prelude to this work reads:
My name is Riley, I am 19, I use they/them/their pronouns. I am inviting you to witness a side of me I try to hide.
Vulnerable. Organic. Unseen.
7 Layers of Skin is inspired by the “7 Stages of Grief” concept. This is my experience with trying to cope with the trauma of being raped. With the devotion of some beloved friends, I have been able to encapsulate my deviating journey of healing for you in the most intimate and authentic way possible.
The ambition I have to continue venturing into the world of art, no matter how unconventional, controversial or confronting, is rooted in my sincerest wish to comfort the disturbed, and rattle the fuck out of the sheltered. That being said, please pursue your role as a viewer with care and grace for your wellbeing.
This piece is on healing & recovery, by Taara, who is a 17 year old female. You can find her @Staara_
The two swans making a heart symbolise healing a broken heart from a world too rotten for pure souls.
This spoken word/poem touches on the themes of healing, recovery, anger, resistance, identity & self-exploration. This piece is by Taara, who is a 17 year old female. You can find her @Staara_
Lotus blooms in water, yet she is pure of its corruption.
She elevates herself, far from the mud, far from the death and decay diluted in the water.
Her roots drink from the moon, but she is the sun.
Born in a world too rotten for her soul.
Left fragile, yet unshaken.
See her pain, conflict, imperfection as a call for her to bloom, to become stronger.
She chooses to not drown in her troubles, yet to daringly survive.
To bloom like a lotus is to rebel against the siege of being a flower, because the more you struggle, the more effervescent you become.
In the end the deeper the mud, the more angelic the lotus blooms.