Raising Sakinah: Finding Peace is a powerful exhibition that honours those who lost their lives during the Christchurch mosque shootings on 15 March, 2019 and highlights the importance of community, connection, and the healing power of art.
The exhibition features a moving series of linocut artworks and is the culmination of a creative collaboration between women who lost their loved ones during the attacks and Colombian-born Kiwi artist and photographer, Janneth Gil.
The exhibition which began on Saturday 25 March comes to an end on Sunday, 21 May with the screening of the Finding Peace Documentary and Panel discussion at Te Pito Huarewa / Southbase Gallery, Turanga, Christchurch.
The word Sakinah means the spirit of tranquillity or peace of reassurance, and the exhibition features a visual representation of Sakinah through art and photography.
Gil began the creative workshops for Raising Sakinah: Finding Peace at the Christchurch Art Centre in 2021, where the women selected photos that had deep personal meaning relating to their loved ones, while also communicating healing and peace. The workshops provided creative tools for healing, focusing on printmaking and photography, and discussions about support systems.
The workshop also worked to support and create a safe space for the women, many of whom didn’t know each other well before the workshop. The workshop helped them to bring them together and connect them in a positive way.
Once the photos were selected, they were then converted into linocut plates and used to create their final prints.
The final artworks were printed using organic ink made from the flowers and tributes left at Christchurch’s Botanic Gardens and Al Noor Mosque, serving as a poignant reminder of the community’s grief and a symbol of healing.
Raising Sakinah | Finding Peace is a project under the umbrella of Darkness into Light which honours the Shuhada, or the martyrs, taken from us on 15 March, 2019.
Gil says, “I wanted to use art and photography as creative tools for healing and wellbeing of the women while also allowing the wider community to share the experiences of those affected, encouraging both personal healing and social cohesion.”
Gil worked with social worker Rebecca Parnham, artist Sudi Dargipour and Norainin Abbas Milne, a survivor from the attacks.
The exhibition serves as a reminder of the tragic events that took place on 15 March, 2019, while also providing a platform for healing and finding peace.
