The Clothesline Project at ISU

In the summer of 1990, a coalition of women’s groups on Cape Cod developed a program that would educate, break the silence and bear witness to violence against individuals.

The concept was simple – let each person tell their story in their own unique way, using words and/or artwork to decorate their shirt. Once finished, they would then hang their shirt on the clothesline. This very action serves many purposes:

1. It acts as an educational tool for those who come to view the Clothesline
2. It allows those who are still suffering in silence to understand that they are not alone
3. It becomes a healing tool for anyone who makes a shirt – by hanging the shirt on the line, survivors, friends and family can literally turn their back on some of that pain of their experience and walk away