Click on the arrows to go through the photos Hope, both bold and blossoming, shines out from an upstairs room of the Donegal County Museum this week. The Donegal Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Centre’s fourth annual exhibition, now open to the public, explores the theme of hope in its many forms. From a defiant Medusa to delicately emerging butterflies, the featured art pieces speak of recovery, regrowth, self-love and freedom. Featured artists range from age 17 and up. The room is charged with a sense of courage and collaboration. This year, the centre worked with local organisations to creatively explore the shared journey taken by victims of sexual assault and violence. For survivor Seán Molloy from Kilcar, hope has been hard won. After experiencing sexual assault at college in the UK, he stayed silent for seven years. “I was an absolutely broken human. Completely broken. I couldn’t even look at people,” he said. When he eventually moved back to Donegal, he reached out to the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre. Counselling was slow at first, he said, but hope and light came gradually. “There were weeks where I didn’t want to speak,” he said. “My life is so different now.” Seán has released a song titled It’s Not Your Fault, which finishes with the lyric ‘It’s not my fault’. That became a turning point for Seán, and it’s an example of how creativity can inspire healing. Now working in a job he loves, forging beautiful new connections and rekindling family relationships, Seán’s journey out of darkness is an inspiring one. He has dedicated all proceeds from the song to the Donegal Rape Crisis Centre. “I don’t think I’d be alive if it wasn’t for these people,” he says The audio is available to listen to as part of the exhibition, and since releasing the track, Seán has personally heard from many strangers who have also been impacted by sexual violence. "If even just one person hears this and feels like they are enough, that what happened to them is not their fault, and
In pictures: Hope Shines through at Donegal Rape Crisis exhibition
The Donegal Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Centre’s fourth annual exhibition, now open to the public, explores the theme of hope in its many forms and featured artists range from 17 and up
