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Lover. Warrior. Survivor. Mother.<\/p>\n
The words were part of a mural displayed at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and painted by Ruth Park, an art student at UTC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose words came to mind when I thought of women I knew,\u201d she says. \u201cI put them up there as an invitation to think of the mural as a tool to describe ourselves and perhaps provoke a way of thinking that was a narrative as we sought to share stories about our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mural\u201412 feet long and eight feet tall\u2014depicts a group of women of all shapes, styles and colors who are enjoying the festival. Along the bottom is a black-painted area for women to contribute their ideas and stories to the mural.<\/p>\n
Park was commissioned to do a mural celebrating women for the \u201cShe-roo\u201d camp at Bonnaroo, a music and arts festival that has been held in June on 650 acres in Manchester, Tenn., since 2002. Participants set up camp for the four-day festival and some camps are specifically designed for women, families and others.<\/p>\n
She was contacted by producers of a group called Mothership, which runs She-roo, a camping area for women and transgenders who, during the festival, call themselves \u201cBonnaroovians.\u201d After the initial interview, she submitted the design and the She-roo managers quickly decided she was a great fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I told her (the producer) my idea, she became very excited. She liked my energy,\u201d Park recalls.<\/p>\n
Park wanted to do something \u201cmeaningful,\u201d she says, so women could feel free to be vulnerable and open to sharing more about themselves, whether that\u2019s fears, triumphs or what they\u2019ve survived.<\/p>\n
Along the upper part of the painting are words such as \u201cwarrior,\u201d \u201cmother,\u201d \u201csurvivor,\u201d \u201cdelicate\u201d and \u201clover.\u201d Near the bottom of the mural it says: \u201cWe all endure. What have you survived?\u201d The bottom and sides are painted black, so women could use white markers to add stories and information about their lives. Among the written thoughts are:<\/p>\n
\u201cAbuse, addiction, sexual assault, self-harm, suicide attempts. I\u2019m still here and fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirthing, breastfeeding and watching my babies grow up and enter the world. Bittersweet.\u201d<\/p>\n