Art reflects women’s experiences of domestic abuse

By Martha Groppo

There is nothing pretty about violence against women, but the Lexington Art League is turning the experiences of domestic violence and sexual abuse into art.
“Witness” is an art exhibit featuring the works of 10 artists who have collaborated with 10 women willing to transform their stories of abuse into art.
“The idea was that visual art could be used as a tool to facilitate healing for survivors, build relationships between artists and survivors, and engage the community in a very powerful way to do its part to end violence against women and girls,” said LaTonia Jones, vice president of the Lexington Art League Board of Directors.
According to art league Marketing Directer Andrea Coates, the work for “Witness” began 14 months ago with the collective planning of groups in the area like  Kentucky Homes for Children and Youth, Third Street Stuff, Bluegrass Rape and Crisis Center, Kentucky Domestic Violence Association and the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program.
“This planning culminated into a three month creative collaboration between 10 specially trained artists and 10 women who have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault,” Coates said.
The women who had experienced the abuse were called “storytellers” and were carefully chosen, Coates said.
Artists and storytellers worked together to create art that reflected the unique stories being told. Coates said the artwork displayed in “Witness” is diverse and includes painting, sculpture, fabric, photography and mixed media. She said the content of the artwork differs depending on the storyteller and artist pair.
“Subject matter is reflective of the storyteller’s story,” she said.
The exhibit is sponsored by the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women, and UK Ph.D. candidate Maria Almario is a member of the workgroup for “Witness.”
Organizers want “Witness” to inspire students to resist the trend of violence against women, which is especially prevalent among college students.
According to UK’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Center, college-aged women are four times more likely to be assaulted than other women.
“One hope of ‘Witness’ is to encourage the public to take action against violence,” Coates said. “Students have a powerful voice in this community and can really help shine light on this issue.”
The opening for the “Witness” exhibit is Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. in the J. Allen Studio and Spa as a part of Gallery Hop.  The exhibit will remain at J. Allen Studio and Spa until Nov. 25, at which point it will be moved for display at the Ending Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Conference from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 at the Griffin Gate Marriott.