AN unusual pop-up art installation of 48 pairs of women’s shoes was put on display in Barnard Castle to mark International Women’s Day last week.
The display, the brainchild of Teesdale branch of the Labour Party members Chloe Walls and Emma Rowell, aimed to highlight the plight faced by domestic abuse victims during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The 48 pairs of shoes represented the number of women who, statistically, will have been killed by a partner or ex-partner in the last six months.
Attached to each pair of shoes, placed in front of St Mary’s Parish Church, the women included facts
about violence against women.
Ms Walls said: “We wondered how we could bring attention to the issue with things not being normal at the moment and we came up with the idea of an art installation as it minimises risk.”
The shoes were donated by a party member who wishes to remain anonymous and at the end of the pop-up installation were given to Woodhouse Close food bank, in Bishop Auckland.
