As part of Consent Action Week at MacEwan University, the John L. Haar Library is hosting a new art gallery, (Re) Mending: Exploring Multiple Paths of Repair and Resistance, that explores themes of healing after sexual violence and resistance to rape culture.
Consent Action Week, held from Oct. 5 to 9, has events aimed at empowering awareness of healthy relationships and consent culture both on and off campus.
The gallery, running from Oct. 5 to 30, showcases multiple pieces exploring themes of repair, resistance, and awareness related to sexual violence and consent.
Roxanne Runyon, senior program manager for MacEwan University’s Office of Sexual Violence Prevention, Education and Response, said moving the exhibit to the library from its previous location in The Lookout in the SAMU building helps attract more foot traffic and engagement.
Runyon added that the live digital wall in the library will archive the gallery after it’s done.
Artist Deirdre McClenghan said her embroidery piece, Mercury Ⅰ, explores the healing and therapeutic role of sewing.
The piece shows a pair of cowboy boots, symbolizing freedom and power, with wings ready for escape and referencing Mercury, the god of travellers and communication.
Along with that, McClenghan said she chose embroidery, a historically woman-dominated art form, to bring attention to women’s domestic labour and its artistic significance.
McClenghan emphasized the importance of addressing assault, particularly against women, given how frequently women experience sexual violence or unwanted sexual behaviour.
“I think most women I know have had some unwanted experience, whether it’s catcalling, or it’s actually someone flashing you, or it’s unwanted attention, or it’s rape.”
According to a 2025 report by Statistics Canada, women were more likely to experience sexual assault, unwanted behaviours in public, and were more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence.
First-year studio design student Rhys Rhodes’ painting, Bite It, showcases the social pressures and expectations surrounding physical intimacy and emotional vulnerability in the modern dating scene.
The piece depicts a female house sparrow with its beak wide open in anticipation of an incoming bullet. Rhodes said they specifically chose a female house sparrow to represent how this pressure often falls on women.
“I kind of was playing off of the phrase ‘bite the bullet,’ because a lot of relationships come with expectations that are not necessarily in line with people’s values and what they want to be doing, or if they’re even ready to be doing things,” they said.
Rhodes added that they hope the painting encourages people to understand and evaluate some of the pressures around dating culture.
“There’s just a lot of expectations, even if they’re not voiced aloud,” they said.
Shweta Sharma, a fourth-year computer science student, explores healing, resistance, and courage following painful experiences in her painting Reclaiming The Flame.
The painting shows a mythological phoenix surrounding a spinning figure.
Sharma said the phoenix, a symbol of resilience, symbolizes the transformative healing journey.
“The pain and the suffering you have been experiencing—that doesn’t define you. You can be transformed into something new,” she said.
Sharma added that the piece represents drawing strength from painful experiences and using it to “reclaim your flame” and continue growing.
Runyon said the process of combating rape culture is an ongoing struggle, and she hopes those engaging with the gallery will contribute to combatting the culture around sexual violence.
“This is not a new struggle. This is not new work. It is ongoing, it is slow, and it is a commitment,” she said. “Perhaps this gallery can be an invitation to those engaging with it to join that struggle, and to be in solidarity, and think about the ways they can contribute to this remending — to this ongoing work.
