Pebble mosaic honours victims, survivors of sexual violence

Erin Lee says to end sexual violence, one must first acknowledgeit is happening.

That's one of the motivations behind a pebble mosaic monument currently being built in Lanark County, where Lee works as executive director of the Lanark County Interval House and Community Support.

"It's validating to know that people in your community recognize that sexual violence is real and that it's happening to lots of people, and that we want to make a statement about it," Lee said.

Crisis calls to Lee's organizationhave increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic with women reporting more severe incidents of violence, she said, which is in line with what local police forcesare experiencing.

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"The reality is we need more housing, we need more safe and affordable housing," she said, adding she's grateful the community was able to build hope through the mosaic during the pandemic.

Earlier this week, community volunteers helped place pebbles on pieces of the circular mosaicbehind the old town hall in Almonte, Ont., just west of Ottawa.

"It's an amazing tribute, really, to how our community, as small as it might be, how we're taking on these issues and taking them on seriously," Lee said.

Art installations offer place to reflect

The mosaic, which will measure nearly twometres in diameter, resembles others created over the past five years ineight different Ontario communities: Eganville, Carleton Place, Pembroke, Killaloe, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Peterborough-Nogojiwanong, North Bay, and Brantford.

Another is being planned this year for Bancroft.

Each mosaic has its own unique design and is built using smooth pebbles of various shapes and sizes, which is part of the CountdownPublic Art Project produced by ReDefine Arts.

While honouring victims and survivors of gender-based violence, the project aims to count downto a world where it doesn't exist.

WATCH | Erin Lee and Anna Camilleri on the new pebble mosaic:

Pebble mosaic built in Almonte, Ont., to honour victims of sexual violence

3 years ago

Duration 1:03

Volunteers gathered to create a pebble mosaic meant to honour victims and survivors of sexual violence. Erin Lee, executive director of the Lanark County Interval House and Community Support, and Anna Camilleri, one of the lead artists, spoke to CBC News about the project.

Anna Camilleri, one of the lead artists and artistic director of ReDefine Arts, said the mosaics are non-threatening and offer a welcoming space for people to gather and reflect.

"So conversations between people that maybe haven't been happening, are happening," Camilleri said.

The interval house in Lanark County helps survivors of sexual violence, but its services also expand to those who experience intimate partner violence, which was part of the reason why Mississippi Mills decided to put the mosaic behind the Almonte Old Town Hall.

The location is just steps away from a memorial fountain for Bernard Cameron, a town councillor who was shot and killed by his daughter's ex-partner in 2016 while trying to protect his family.

The finished mosaic will be unveiled at a ceremony on Sept. 30.