Shame Ends Here

An interdisciplinary project to show the scale and impact of s3xual violence

 

SHAME ENDS HERE

An innovative representation of police data and personal testimonies by Make Your Mark, using art and film to show the scale and impact of s3xual violence.

Shame Ends Here shines a light on an issue that is too often down-played or obscured under a mass of impersonal statistics. The project aims to honour and give voice to survivors of abuse, raise awareness and funds for victim-support services (especially SURVIVE), and bring about change by fostering community dialogue.

Led by Lucy Churchill, Make My Mark represents a new model for community-engaged art in the digital era; an inter-disciplinary collaboration involving local and international contributions, in-person and on-line to address a global problem, with personal perspectives presented under the cover of General Data Protection Regulations.

The project builds on the legacy of Suzanne Lacy’s art-activism; “Three Weeks in May – Speaking Out On Rape”. This influential feminist performance-piece brought about legislative change in California in 1977 and continues to inspire artists and activists.

Get in touch if you want to show Shame Ends Here.

 

The Art Installation:

    • When: Sunday 1 February 2026, 2-8pm (revised date)
    • Where: York City Screen Basement Bar, 13-17 Coney Street, York YO1 9
    • Why: To mark the 35th anniversary of Survive – North Yorkshire’s specialist support service for adult survivors of s3xual trauma.
    • What: A single-day exhibition with multiple components including-
      – Map-based art recording  the 1,436 reported acts of s3xual violence over 1 year in North Yorkshire.
      – A handmade Book of Testimonies with personal accounts submitted from around the world, displayed with text related art.
      – A short evocative film, with spoken testimonies and images and sounds of the map-stamping process.
      – A booklet of supporting data interwoven with personal statements and additional information for visitors to take away.
      – Lucy Churchill and the Make Your Mark group will be present at the event.
      – 2nd November, 6pm: An on-line follow-up Q&A session with the Make Your Mark group.

Content Warning:

This exhibition contains references to s3xual violence and survivor testimonies that may be distressing. Support information will be available on-site.

The Creative Process:

Participants at the initial event in York on 11 May 2025 used publicly available police data to mark 1,436 stamps on a map of North Yorkshire (randomised for Data Protection). This recorded the exact number of reported incidents of s3xual violence across the region between October 2023 to September 2024.
Marking the map was a symbolic gesture of acknowledgement, not just of the unknown victims whose experience was catalogued but the thousands of victims whose life-changing experiences were never recorded or given legal recognition in court. The effect of this silencing -or ‘gaslighting’ on individuals and the wider community is often brutal and long-reaching.
To help viewers relate to the incidents marked on the map, Lucy Churchill invited survivors of s3xual assault to send in their own stories. These were then hand-typed, like a police report, and collated into a Book of Testimonies. These moving personal accounts have formed the basis of the subsequent artworks and film.

Shame Ends Here is a coming together to share and listen to stories, to gain understanding, heal through being heard and learn how we can end the tacit continuation of r@pe-culture and s3xual abuse.

The Creative Team

Make Your Mark is a collaborative group in York, UK working creatively and voluntarily to bring about a positive change in society.

Lucy Churchill – artist, concept author and group co-ordinator
John Beecroft – cinematography
Daniel Jeffares – data representation, GDPR advisor, tech support
Catherine May – creator of Book of Testimonies
Maggie Stirk – graphic design
Pip White – typography, printing and text arrangement
Jay Allsopp – textile art
Kat Jeffares – assistant to cinematographer
Sam Mills – concept & counselling advice
Ben Eyes – sound composition
Katherine Loverock – counselling advice
Kerry Harker – GDPR and exhibition advice

Supported by:

This project was made possible due to Lucy Churchill’s Arts Council of England Develop Your Creative Practice award
With many thanks to Thin Ice Press for use of their printing workshop and book related advice, and Young Thugs Recording Studio
Also the Make Your Mark Rubber Stamps shop for their excellent bespoke service, and York Digital Image for their friendly support.