Create Your Own Clothesline Project | Equity in Education

create your own clothesline project

To create your own Clothesline Project you will need to following items:

Materials: Rope, clothespins, a variety of blank t-shirts of different colors since each color represents a different form of violence (the colors most used are red, pink, orange, blue, green, and yellow), markers, scissors, anything else that might be used to decorate/design t-shirts. Many of these items could be donated or purchased cheaply at thrift stores or at large distribution centers. Occasionally community grants are available, or some community groups are willing to sponsor this event. We buy our t-shirts through a t-shirt printing company and are often able to purchase the shirts for less than $2 each (cheapest if you buy in bulk).

Space: Public, open, visible space is often best for this awareness raising project. If you are affiliated with a sympathetic organization, schedule space for the display in a public area with trees and benches. Be sure to schedule a back-up location in case the weather becomes a problem. You will also want a private area viewers can go to in order to make a shirt describing their own experience. Be sure that you are able to tie ropes to the trees (or other items) to display the t-shirts without causing damage. If you are not affiliated with a sympathetic organization, consider contacting a local library, community college or university, or the local police department's victim's advocate for suggestions of locations and possible sponsorship.

Time: It is usually most effective if you are able to display the Clothesline Project for an extended period of time over a few days so a greater variety of people are able to view it. I prefer displaying it from about 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It usually takes 1-2 hours to set the Clothesline up and people will usually spend about 30 minutes viewing it. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and April is Sexual Assault Prevention Month so these are particularly good months to display the project.

People: It is important to have someone with the Clothesline Project at all times. Often visitors have strong emotional reactions to the display and it is helpful if someone is there to talk to them. Often local university graduate students in counseling programs are willing to donate some of their time, as are domestic violence counselors or other trained personnel, if they are invited and given enough notice to fit the project into their schedule. Volunteers from the community and local postsecondary schools can be quickly trained in how to answer questions from visitors. To find volunteers, contact service-learning centers, United Way or other community outreach centers for suggestions. Be sure your volunteers know they are not qualified to offer therapy services (but they can strongly recommend visitors seek help and provide lists of available services).

Training: To train volunteers, give them a brief explanation of the history of the project, why you think it is important for your community, share some of the statistics of the reality of violence in your community or state (if you know them. If you do not, visit your state's website and conduct a search for domestic violence and rape statistics). Have volunteers spend about 30-60 minutes viewing the Clothesline Project, reading the shirts and skimming the handouts. Explain to volunteers the goals of the project and what you expect of them. Let them know back-up plans in case of inclement weather. Make sure they know what to do if a visitor has a strong reaction and needs help (get them to a professional therapist).

Handouts: It is generally a good idea to have a simple handout explaining the Clothesline Project to visitors. Other significant handouts can be obtained from police department's victim's advocates, domestic violence shelters, children's justice centers and other organizations dedicated to ending violence and helping survivors heal. If you are not familiar with these organizations, contact your local United Way.

Dealing with offended viewers: Some people will be offended at the content of the project, others will be upset and wonder what good this display does (why dredge up pain? Is a common question I hear), in both cases it can be most effective to agree with the concerned/offended individual that this material is disturbing, offensive and unsettling, then emphasize that if we are uncomfortable reading about it, how much more horrible must it be to actually LIVE with the reality. Explain that one of the goals of the project is to raise awareness and disturb our community enough that people will be moved to act so the epidemic of violence will end. Thank them for being concerned enough to speak out and ask them to be sure to voice their concerns about the horrors of violence to others.

Getting t-shirts to start the project: It is best to start the project with at least 15-30 shirts. To obtain your first t-shirts, either contact the Clothesline Project nearest you and ask them to come to your community to display their shirts (then viewers will add their own and thus provide you with your beginning shirts), or contact a couple local organizations that work with victims of abuse and ask if you can do a presentation to them about the Clothesline Project. You could ask them to view (or show them) this on-line Clothesline Project and explain you want to start a physical Clothesline for your community. Ask if any of their clients would be interested in making a t-shirt as a form of art therapy to be used as an awareness raising tool.

Publicity: Most newspapers are willing to run brief articles announcing the Clothesline Project or (more common) are willing to report on it after it happens, if you contact them early and explain the project's significance and your motivations. It is also good to post fliers around local college campuses, in libraries and anywhere else that allows you to post information on community events. Often local PTAs are supportive as are many church groups and other community organizations. Remember, if people do not know about it, they will not come.

Other questions? If you have any other questions, would like suggestions, or just want to talk about your experience, please give us a call 801.863.8498 or email us at equity@uvsc.edu.