Sharpen Her African Women’s Network (SHAWN) and Open Aye
Sharpen Her: African Women’s Network (SHAWN) supports African women, addressing barriers to participation in society and building capacity
Open Aye is a social enterprise providing expertise in participatory photo projects, particularly for under-served communities. Sharpen Her partnered with Open Aye to run a participatory photography project with network members exploring mental health stigma. Over their weeks together Becky Duncan from Open Aye supported the group to create an exhibition and a visual guide which combines photography, written reflections, and a directory for support.
“When we make space for creativity, for slowness, and for one another, we begin to imagine new ways of being well, ways that honour difference, that centre empathy, and that remind us we are not alone” (Project Participant quoted in the Sharpen Her Visual Guide and Directory for Mental Wellness)
The Sharpen Her guide and exhibition has subsequently been used to prompt valuable discussion and aid understanding of intersectional stigma in various settings, including the See Me Conference in September 2025 to an audience of 190 people, ‘When Lions Roar’ an event exploring racialized health inequality at Glasgow University in October 2025, and as part of work influencing Scottish Government’s Time, Space Compassion suicide prevention strand.