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Write Where We Belong · May 15, 2026

Trauma like a camera flash

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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. · Write Where We Belong

As I prepare to host a new installation of What Were You Wearing? at the 2026 Conference on Crimes Against Women, I am adding my own storyboard to the exhibit for the first time.

My story has always been deeply embedded in these exhibits; my poem, “What I Was Wearing,” is part of their origin story—the very DNA of this survivor-led project. In 2005, long before the first physical exhibit was hosted in 2014, photographer Patsy Evans and I had planned an art installation built around the question the poem exposes, where other survivors could contribute their stories.

As part of my ongoing social justice work, I have sought to foreground the voices of other survivors, and those who did not live to share their stories. Next week in Dallas, I will place my storyboard alongside theirs. Because justice is inseparable from voice. And silencing can only be interrupted when we bring the record into public view.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you are not alone.

Please reach out to RAINN at 800-656-HOPE or visit rainn.org.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Read the original on marysimmerling.substack.com

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