The Vagina In The Room (in-person)

The Vagina In The Room is an honest, alarming and uplifting multidisciplinary performance piece by Juanita Rea in which she tells a story of her life as a survivor of childhood sexual trauma and domestic violence. She merges spoken word with songs and monologue alongside soundscapes, visual art and videos to take the audience on a compelling, captivating journey offering insight into her lifetime of creative and contemplative practice, supported by therapy along the way traversing self-loathing with self-acceptance and self-love.

With references to childhood sexual trauma, domestic violence, PTSD etc the performance is suitable for adults (18+) only with attendees are welcome to take self-care breaks in between pieces and in a manner that is considerate to Juanita and audience members.

We can all see the rising VAWG epidemic and while we have heroines like Gisèle Pelicot, we need to be making sure that no-one has to ever endure sexual violence. For Juanita, he was family and she was four. It took her decades to say the word out 'rape' loud, let alone make artivism part of her mission to make the world safer for children. And while having rapists, bigots and misogynists in positions of power makes this mission harder -it makes it more critical.

Online tickets to the live-streamed performance are available

About the Artist and Artists Who contributed to this piece

It has been created by Juanita Rea, Visiting Scholar at the School of Arts, English and Languages, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) with funding through an Arts Council Northern Ireland 2023 SIAP Award. She is also a recipient of 2 ACNI Minority Ethnic Awards (2021/2022) Alongside spoken word and monologue, Juanita will be performing songs from her upcoming debut album that she has worked on with producers Chip Bailey and Phil d'Alton with pre-recorded music from a diverse range of talented musicians - Ciaran Lavery, Jonny Woods (Wynona Bleach), Nick Scott, David McCann (Hard Rain Ensemble), Lucy Drennan, Martin Surginor, Alan McClure, Bob Bowles, Nic Bailey, Mukesh Sharma, Liz Kelly and Bernard Jackson (OTH Collective), Dave McMaster, Chip Bailey and Peter Wilson aka Duke Special.

These are valuable reflections from Juana Simpson whose honest insights speak to the value this performance offers to survivors of childhood sexual violence.

Visa Extension Fundraiser

Juanita is an Indian South African artist and recipient of a Global Talent Visa Endorsement from Arts Council since 2021. She is raising £3K for her visa extension fee and immigration health surcharge due for submission by December 13th, 2024.

Juanita is seeking allies who not only stand with her against violence against women and girls, yet also stand with her as she faces UK Immigration.

Ready to be ally? Support artivism.

Gold Ally: £500 for 10 tickets

Silver Ally: £250 for 10 tickets

Bronze Ally: £100 for 5 tickets

Individual tickets £20, £25 and £50

Refund and Ticket Transfer Policy

Tickets are tiered (£20, £25, £50`) and are non-refundable yet transferable. If you cannot attend, you can give the ticket/s to someone else .

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), Cloreen Park, Belfast, United Kingdom