Striking red gowns will soon aim to catch the attention of passersby as they’re hung in various areas around Brock University’s main and downtown campuses.

The statement clothing pieces, part of the REDress Project, will appear Thursday, Feb. 14 and carry a strong message, drawing awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

The brainchild of Métis artist Jamie Black, the REDress Project is an activist art installation that is now in its second year.

Red dresses will be hung around Brock’s main campus, the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and Rodman Hall Art Centre, and presented along with information on the extraordinarily high rates of violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls in contemporary Canadian society.

A related panel discussion, featuring community speakers connected to the issue, will also be held Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. in TH 247. The event will also include a presentation by Lyn Trudeau, a Brock PhD student and instructor. Trudeau will discuss her recently published paper on the play Pig Girl (based on the Pickton murders in Vancouver) and its implications for Indigenous women and girls.

This event is presented by the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies and is open to everyone.