Victims Of Montreal Massacre Remembered In Sculpture, Song And Poetry At York University Women's Remembrance Day Events

TORONTO, December 3, 1998 -- York University is paying tribute to the 14 women slain at Šcole Polytechnique in Montreal nine years ago, and is raising awareness of violence against women with a week of art, music and poetry culminating in a Women's Remembrance Day Ceremony, in Vari Hall (Rotunda) Fri., Dec. 4, 1998, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Female blues singer Faith Nolan will headline the event which is sponsored by York University's December 6th Organizing Committee. Charmaine Crawford, a graduate student in York University's School of Women's Studies, will read a selection of poems. Speakers include Karen Bible, of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transitional Housing and Arun Mukherjee, Advisor to the University on the Status of Women. There will also be candle lighting in remembrance of the women.

"We will play video clips of the news coverage from the massacre," said Heather Dryden, an advisor with the York University Centre for Race and Ethnic Relations. "There are many students here who were only nine or 10 years old at the time, and we want to make sure that this tragedy, and indeed the plight of women victims of violence, is not forgotten," she said.

Two commemorative sculptural works by artist Jane Lind will be on display in Vari Hall (Rotunda) on Dec. 4, and in the Student Centre Art Gallery from Thurs., Dec. 3 to Fri., Dec. 11. The first, A Long Circle, is a circular metallic work large enough for students to walk through. It includes sculptures of 14 individual figures representing the 14 women slain in the massacre. The second work, Mother, Daughter, Sister (1996-98), is a representation of figures sculpted in clay. The exhibit opening will include a wine and cheese reception Thurs., Dec. 3, 1998, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

"In Mother, Daughter, Sister, the focus of violence toward women moves away from the Montreal massacre even further to an image that encompasses the approximate number of women who, at current rates, will be murdered in Canada between 1998 and the year 2000," says Lind. "The clay figures, though they have individual features, are all formed to lie in the same basic position to give the installation unity and to strengthen the impact of the repetition," she said.

Classes are cancelled during the Women's Remembrance Day Ceremonies to allow students, faculty and staff to attend. The flag in the Common will be flown at half-mast to honour the 14 victims. All events are free and open to the public.

WHEN/WHERE:
Jane Lind Sculpture Exhibit - Mother, Daughter, Sister (1996-1998)
Thurs., Dec. 3, - Fri., Dec. 11, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Closed weekends)
Student Centre Art Gallery, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto

Wine and cheese reception - Opening of Jane Lind sculpture exhibit
Thurs., Dec. 3, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Student Centre Art Gallery, York University

Women's Remembrance Day Ceremony
Fri., Dec. 4, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Vari Hall (Rotunda), York University

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Debra Glass
Director of Student Affairs
York University
(416) 736-5953

Heather Dryden
Advisor, Centre for Ethnic and Race Relations
York University
(416) 736-5682

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22807

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
YU/089/98