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International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day

March 8, 2022

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The Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2022, supporting the battle against domestic violence and femicide.

On this occasion, the Institute has invited Italian illustrator Rita Petruccioli to create this unique artwork. We thank Rita for joining this initiative, and we are pleased to make the illustration available for you to download throughout the month of March, in both printable and digital wallpaper formats.

As you download it, we invite you, within your possibilities, to offer a donation to A Long Walk Home and support the empowerment of young people to end violence against girls and women.

 

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A Long Walk Home (ALWH) is a national art organization based in Chicago that empowers young people to end violence against girls and women. We commit our resources to increase opportunities for girls and young women in our society who are most vulnerable to multiple forms of violence in the Chicago area including low-income, girls and women of color, those with disabilities, and LGBTQI+- identified and gender expansive youth.

Founded by two African-American sisters, Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet in 2003, ALWH evolved out of the creation of the Story of Rape Survivor performance (SOARS) produced in 1998 — more than 20 years before the #MeToo movement — to document Salamishah’s journey after she was raped in college and provide rare insight into the arc of healing on which many survivors of color embark. As they toured campuses and communities all over the United States, the Tillet sisters became early trailblazers of our current movement to elevate the voices of rape survivors of color, to educate the public about the epidemic of sexual violence, and to offer an in-depth focus on healing and recovery in the aftermath of trauma.

In 2009, A Long Walk launched Girl/Friends, a youth-centered leadership program in Chicago that amplifies the voices and creative visions of those most vulnerable to violence: girls and women of color.

Girl/Friends is made up of the Summer Initiative at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a 5-week art and activism training for which the girls earn college credit; Girl/Power, an afterschool program in which girls launch social justice campaigns and peer education trainings in their schools, community, and throughout the country. ALWH has impacted over 600 girls, whose work has reached thousands of students, parents, and community members nationwide. In 2021 alone, our work has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Netflix, CBS News, and ABC News.

 

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Rita Petruccioli is an Italian cartoonist and illustrator. Her practice includes illustrations for magazines, advertising organizations, children’s books, and comics. Her works have been published both in Italy and internationally by BAO Publishing, Mondadori, Sergio Bonelli Editore, Il Castoro, Treccani, Penguin, and Hachette, among others. In 2019 she published “Ti Chiamo Domani” (I’ll Call You Tomorrow), her first solo graphic novel, after the collaboration with Giovanni Masi on “Frantumi” (Shatters) in 2017. Both titles were published by Bao Publishing. Each month she draws “Case Rosse” (Red Houses) for Internazionale Kids, a comic series written by Susanna Mattiangeli, with whom she also worked on the children’s books series “Matita HB” (HB Pencil). In 2021, she took part in the Venice Biennale with her comic strip installation “Sisterhood in the Neighborhood. Detoxing Public Space From Patriarchy,” in collaboration with ActionAid and coordinated by Rebel Architects. In 2022, she designed the weekly webcomic “ISA” together with Lorenzo Ghetti, which was produced by Palazzo Ducale of Mantova and Rulez, and sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Culture. Beyond her publishing activity, she works on programming for several festivals, and she is also actively involved in Casa delle Donne Lucha y Siesta.

  • Organized by: Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Chicago
  • In collaboration with: A Long Walk Home