Surviving...Thriving: A Journey of Healing Through Art

What is it?

Surviving...Thriving: A Journey of Healing Through Art is an annual event on our campus that takes place in the Castellani Art Museum in the month of October in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The University partners with several community agencies who serve on the planning committee and provide collections of artwork created by survivors of domestic violence. This artwork is displayed for one evening for both campus and community members to view. In addition to raising awareness, all proceeds from the event are donated to Pinnacle Community Service's Passage House and Domestic Violence Services.

"All of the pieces were created by survivors as a form of art healing, a way for their voices to be heard, and a way to raise awareness of the impact that domestic violence has in our very own community." - Larissa Bachmann, Director of Passage House Domestic Violence Services at Pinnacle Community Services

"If we reach one person who felt as if they walked away having more knowledge about what to do, or having more knowledge about understanding how to respond to victims, then I think it's a success." - Dr. Dana Radatz, Associate Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice

The Clothesline Project is a community-based public art display that honors survivors of intimate partner violence. The purpose is to demonstrate the impact of relationship violence and increase awareness in our community. Each year we ask students to create shirts to contribute to the project.

Red flags are placed in St Vincent circle to bring awareness to the warning signs ("red flags") that we may see for intimate partner violence in a friend's relationship. This campaign is a national public awareness initiative that encourages others to say something when they see a red flag.

Every year, our community partners provide and display artwork created by domestic violence survivors in our community. These exhibits change and rotate from year to year.