â??What Gives People Powerâ? is an oral history project focused on people defining power and control, based on their personal experience. Through interviews with domestic violence survivors and perpetrators, as well and staff and volunteers from the House Of Ruth Maryland, the project documents connections between perceptions of power and the cycle of violence. The resulting stories give voice to the stigmatized issue of domestic violence, while bringing to light the diverse ways and means that people empower themselves.

This project is a collaboration between Sharlene McNeil and Hannah Brancato, with contributions from Naomi M., Lakiesha F., and Anita R

More info: whatgivespeoplepower.wordpress.com
  • Responses
    Responses
    Some of the responses left inside the booth when it was exhibited at MICA and the Enoch Pratt Central Library.
  • What Gives People Power - Responses
    What Gives People Power - Responses
    Some of the responses left inside the booth when it was exhibited at MICA and the Enoch Pratt Central Library. “What Gives People Power” is an oral history project focused on people defining power and control, based on their personal experience. Through interviews with domestic violence survivors and perpetrators, as well as staff and volunteers from the House Of Ruth Maryland, the project documents connections between perceptions of power and the cycle of violence. The resulting stories give voice to the stigmatized issue of domestic violence, while bringing to light the diverse ways and means that people empower themselves. In this installation of the audio interviews, I created a listening booth encrusted with stereotypes about what gives people power. When visitors stepped inside the booth, they listened to honest and real reflections of that same subject. This project is a collaboration between Sharlene McNeil and Hannah Brancato, with contributions from Naomi M., Lakiesha F., and Anita R Hear the interviews: https://whatgivespeoplepower.wordpress.com/house-of-ruth-interviews-2009-2010/
  • Sharlene
    3:10 : Sharlene Sharlene is the co-founder of What Gives People Power; she lived in the House Of Ruthâ??s transitional shelter program. Sharlene discusses her irrepressible passion for using her voice and her creativity. She describes how her sonâ??s father suppressed her voice and controlled her actions. As she becomes an independent woman once again, Sharlene finds that with the newfound freedom to write and express herself, she is better able to cope with daily challenges.
  • Glenn
    3:03 : Glenn Glenn is a graduate of Gateway, the abuser intervention program at the House Of Ruth Maryland. Although he finished his 22-week obligation, Glenn returns periodically for additional counseling and support. He has been in and out of jail for most of his life and is a recovering alcoholic. Glenn describes how incarceration creates the reality that power is about domination and fear.
  • Malene
    3:11 : Malene Malene is a writer and an educator who founded American Heroine Sessions, workshops designed to help others tell their life story; she taught these workshops in the emergency shelter in summer 2009. Malene describes her fierce core, and the contradictions inherent in being a woman. She says accepting the role of the victim can be tempting, but stresses that subjugated individuals must learn from their reality. Alice Walkerâ??s writing helped her wake up to and leave her own abusive relationship.
  • img_1539.jpg
    img_1539.jpg
    Visitors also have a chance to leave their written or recorded responses to the same questions that interviewees responded to: 1. How do you define power? 2. What experiences have shaped that definition? Family? Work? Relationships? Your gender? Your race? 3. What do you have control over? 4. What is out of your control?
  • img_1531.jpg
    img_1531.jpg
    Inside the booth, visitors are invited to listen to interviews with staff, volunteers, and clients from House Of Ruth about power and control.
  • What Gives People Power - booth detail
    What Gives People Power - booth detail
    “What Gives People Power” is an oral history project focused on people defining power and control, based on their personal experience. Through interviews with domestic violence survivors and perpetrators, as well as staff and volunteers from the House Of Ruth Maryland, the project documents connections between perceptions of power and the cycle of violence. The resulting stories give voice to the stigmatized issue of domestic violence, while bringing to light the diverse ways and means that people empower themselves. In this installation of the audio interviews, I created a listening booth encrusted with stereotypes about what gives people power. When visitors stepped inside the booth, they listened to honest and real reflections of that same subject. This project is a collaboration between Sharlene McNeil and Hannah Brancato, with contributions from Naomi M., Lakiesha F., and Anita R Hear the interviews: https://whatgivespeoplepower.wordpress.com/house-of-ruth-interviews-2009-2010/
  • img_1504.jpg
    img_1504.jpg
  • What Gives People Power - Listening Booth
    What Gives People Power - Listening Booth
    8' x 3' x 3' Toy guns, plastic diamonds, paper money, feathers, fake flowers, yarn, books, remote controls, fake hair, mirrors, electrical cords, oral histories, media recorder. Listening booth for interviews about power and control from the House Of Ruth Maryland. Visitors were invited to leave audio and written responses inside the booth. http://www.whatgivespeoplepower.wordpress.com
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