In honor of April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center is hosting its “Survivors of Violence” art exhibit Friday.
The annual exhibit will be presented at the Civic Media Center and Wild Iris Books from Friday to Wednesday before moving to the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art from April 5 to April 14.
“Part of the reason that we gravitated towards an art exhibit is that it’s a really amazing way for survivors to have a platform to put their voices out into the community,” said Ashley Flattery, a victim advocate counselor at the VSRCC.
The crisis center accepted art submissions from victims of interpersonal violence across the community. The exhibit showcases the way art can be a healing tool, and it provides a space for survivors to get their voices heard, Flattery said. The art showcased in the exhibit will be multimedia and completely open to the artist’s interpretation.
“It is absolutely all over the place,” she said. “We are always really excited to see the new and exciting stuff we get every year.”
The art submitted this year ranges from traditional paintings and sculptures to crocheted pieces, homemade scenes and performances. Survivors will perform pieces and readings at the opening event, which will be held at 7 p.m. at the Civic Media Center and Wild Iris Books.
Erica Merrell, a co-owner of Wild Iris Books, said the bookstore hosts the exhibit each year, creating a room for survivors to decompress.
“I think that when we come out to this kind of event we are really showing survivors and our community that we are kind of aware of even their existence,” Flattery said. “Interpersonal violence is something that is so taboo to talk about. It’s something that a lot of people are afraid to even discuss.”
The Wild Iris Project, a social group that meets at Wild Iris Books, is a group that was started by a survivor of interpersonal violence who wanted to create a safe space.
“She wanted to help create a space that was social and educational and healing and all of these things,” Merrell said. “We were absolutely willing to give it a go.”
This year, the Wild Iris Project will take part in the exhibit with its own art submission.
“Our last activity was to craft these glitter jars,” she said. “They filled them with glitter and whenever you feel triggered or anxious or angry, you can shake it up. As the glitter settles you can kind of concentrate on your breathing and try to reground yourself.”
Flattery said she hopes the exhibit will unify survivors and the community.
“It also allows other people who are survivors to connect with other survivors, because I think one of the hardest parts is thinking no one else has gone through this,” Flattery said. “We want them to know that they are not alone.”
