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Events

2026 RISE Survivor Art Show Virtual Gallery

The Blue Bench Presents

The Fifth Annual RISE Survivor Art Show

Content Advisory: This exhibition features artwork created by survivors and may explore themes of trauma and sexual violence. Some pieces may be emotionally challenging. Viewers are encouraged to engage at their own pace and take care of themselves while viewing.

The Blue Bench proudly presents the return of the RISE Art Gallery— an annual exhibition rooted in healing, grounded in dignity, and committed to honoring the strength and resilience of survivors. It is a cornerstone of our community’s commitment to awareness, support, and collective healing. Through powerful artwork and courageous expression, it creates space for survivors to reclaim their narratives, uplift their voices, and break the silence surrounding sexual violence.

This year, we are proud to feature local artist Love, Jaz. Art otherwise known as Jaz Palmer. Admission is free, and all artwork sales directly support the artists. RISE is made possible through the generous support of Alpine Bank and 40 West Arts.

The in-person exhibit will be open to the public with free admission from April 3–April 25, 2026, at 40 West Arts in Lakewood, CO, featuring a selection of artwork. Select pieces are available for purchase, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the artists.

The gallery is accompanied by the RISE Together Party, a vibrant community celebration honoring the exhibition and the resilience of survivors. Proceeds support The Blue Bench’s vital, trauma-informed services, ensuring care remains accessible and free to all who need it. Interested in buying or sponsoring a ticket? Visit our ticketing page.

The Blue Bench is metro Denver’s only comprehensive sexual assault prevention and survivor support center, providing advocacy, education, and essential services to help individuals heal, regain agency, and thrive.

For those interested in purchasing artwork, please contact Angeles Phan.

See Our Live Exhibition

Location: 40 West Arts, 6501 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80214

Exhibit Dates: April 3–April 25, 2026

Hours: Wed–Thu 12–4 PM; Fri 12–4 PM & 5–9 PM; Sat–Sun 12–5 PM; Closed Mon–Tue

Admission: Free and open to the public

RISE 2026 Featured Artwork: Coping by Love, Jaz. Art / Jaz Palmer

  • Coping by Jaz Palmer
    Coping by Jaz Palmer

    Coping

    Size: 16"x 20"

    Medium: Cut Plastic, Spray Paint, Acrylic Paint

    The medium of Coping is its message. Built from fragmented marijuana containers I have collected over the past year, the piece chronicles my path away from self-medication and toward healthier forms of survival. The chaotic, shattered texture speaks to a life torn apart, while the visual movement from darkness to light embodies my conscious, difficult climb out of despair. At its core, the piece is a self-portrait. The inflamed red center is my heart, representing a literal, damaging pericardial effusion brought on by an autoimmune response to trauma. It is my declaration that even under immense pressure, I am at the center of my own healing. This work is about the messy, painful, and ultimately hopeful responsibility of putting oneself back together.

Why RISE Matters & Who Love, Jaz. Art Is

The Blue Bench features returning RISE artist Jaz Palmer. Jaz is a student at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design pursuing a BFA in Illustrative Design and is building their art studio and brand, Love, Jaz. Art.

Learn more and explore their work:
Website: https://lovejaz.art/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovejaz.art/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaz-palmer1111

2026 RISE Written Works

  • Echoes and Imprints by /kz
    Echoes and Imprints by /kz

    KZ shares her life's perspectives and experiences through creative non-fiction, i.e., "prose pieces." She believes that expressing both the pain and hope present in sexual abuse and healing assists survivors to feel less estranged and alone.

  • Angel Shot (1) by Allison Stanek
    Angel Shot (1) by Allison Stanek

    This is a poem that candidly captures multiple dimensions of my experience as an imperfect victim of sexual and intimate partner violence. I reclaim my experiences within a society that blames me for my abuse rather than questioning the assailants who chose to harm me at my most vulnerable.

  • Angel Shot (2) by Allison Stanek
    Angel Shot (2) by Allison Stanek

    This is a poem that candidly captures multiple dimensions of my experience as an imperfect victim of sexual and intimate partner violence. I reclaim my experiences within a society that blames me for my abuse rather than questioning the assailants who chose to harm me at my most vulnerable.
     

  • Angel Shot (3) by Allison Stanek
    Angel Shot (3) by Allison Stanek

    This is a poem that candidly captures multiple dimensions of my experience as an imperfect victim of sexual and intimate partner violence. I reclaim my experiences within a society that blames me for my abuse rather than questioning the assailants who chose to harm me at my most vulnerable.
     

  • ghost by anonymous
    ghost by anonymous

    I recall you and erase myself, so I write myself anew. I could feed you forgiveness and deny my hollowed plate, or I could feed you silence, and decide I won't starve.

  • Burning Bridges by Callie Cheever
    Burning Bridges by Callie Cheever

    Burning Bridges is a poem exploring the intricate dynamics of a dysfunctional family system. There is a narrative in our society that family will always be there, and blood runs deep. This is not true for many survivors. Pushing these narratives can be harmful and counterintuitive. Telling someone who is drowning that they should stick it out because water runs deep does not make sense. In this same vein, it makes no sense to ask survivors to cling to the hope that their family is not the one drowning them.
     

  • I Am The 1% by Joe
    I Am The 1% by Joe

    This queer poetry was written while an undergraduate student at the University of Indianapolis and chosen for publication in Etchings Literary and Fine Arts Magazine, Volume 33.1. Fall 2020. It speaks to personal discovery and hints at physical abuse as a child while in the "safety" of an institution.
     

  • Why I Didn't Report by JustSass
    Why I Didn't Report by JustSass

    Line by line rationale for why I chose not to report my assault.
     

  • The Scope and the Hecatomb by Ria Swapp
    The Scope and the Hecatomb by Ria Swapp

    "Statistics sourced by RAINN show that for every 1,000 S.A.'s, 310 victims report the assault to law enforcement, 50 of those reports lead to arrest, 28 of those arrests lead to felony convictions, and 25 are sentenced to incarceration. *

    Whether or not someone engages with the criminal justice system or even shares about their experience of S.A. is a complex and personal liberty.

    I believe survivors.

    *Source: RAINN. (2025, August 28). Statistics: The criminal justice system. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network."
     

  • The Scope and the Hecatomb by Ria Swapp
    The Scope and the Hecatomb by Ria Swapp

    "Statistics sourced by RAINN show that for every 1,000 S.A.'s, 310 victims report the assault to law enforcement, 50 of those reports lead to arrest, 28 of those arrests lead to felony convictions, and 25 are sentenced to incarceration. *

    Whether or not someone engages with the criminal justice system or even shares about their experience of S.A. is a complex and personal liberty.

    I believe survivors.

    *Source: RAINN. (2025, August 28). Statistics: The criminal justice system. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network."
     

2026 RISE Virtual Gallery

  • Abbie Salazar-Francone Art - Out of the Darkness
    Abbie Salazar-Francone Art - Out of the Darkness

    Abbie Salazar-Francome

     

    Out of the Darkness

     

    Sculpture

     

    10 x 8 x 9

     

    $400

     

    "Out of the Darkness", shows the strong women who has lived through the darkness of life to discover that the beauty and light is in her and in the world and nature.

    https://abbiedo.etsy.com/

    Instagram: @anbster

     

     

  • Let Me Out! by Allard Broderick
    Let Me Out! by Allard Broderick

    Allard Broderick

     

    Allard Broderick

     

    Let Me Out!

     

    Sculpture

     

    18 x 18 x 8

     

    $450

     

     

    This piece represents the emotions that we have to mask to navigate the world on a daily basis after such violence has occurred. Let me out represents the inside and outside screams I often want to do to try and rid some of the stronger emotions I have yet to understand.

     

     

    Instagram: @Wallpaper_dogs_poetry

     

     

  • UNYIELDINGLY HUMAN by Iri Allis Heistand
    UNYIELDINGLY HUMAN by Iri Allis Heistand

    Iri Allis Heistand

     

    UNYIELDINGLY HUMAN

     

    Painting

     

    46 x 30 x 1.5

     

     

    Countless violent acts haunt my senses vividly as an autistic survivor. I endured lies that my waking nightmares were only "dreams" and censorship of all I am.

     

    Abusers engineer our self-doubt for their convenience, blaming our imagination (liberation) for our true experience. A vivid memory: locked inside, the buzzing hive of yellowjackets beside my pillow demanded, "You OK with this!?"

     

    So I broke out, never to return. I'm here to trust my instinct, voice, and self: vividly, unyieldingly human.

     

     

    www.allisonheistand.com

     

     

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/iri.allis/

     

     

     

  • Darkest Parts by A. Barros
    Darkest Parts by A. Barros

    A. Barros

    Darkest Parts

    Mixed Media

    28 x 22 x 1

    $1200

    Media: Acrylic, Metallic & Color-shifting Pigments, Mica Powder, Silicone Caulk, Modeling Paste, Found Childhood Photos, and Personal Journal Entries on Black 22x28 Canvas.

    Description: Inspired by the sentiment of "growing flowers in the darkest parts of you," this self-portrait explores the violent reshaping of a soul and the subsequent reclamation of self. Through heavy lines and fractured cavities, the piece exposes the "worst version" of myself forced into existence by abuse—yet it is from these very breaches that my resilience takes root.

    By integrating raw-edged childhood photos and cascading journal entries, the work documents a visceral metamorphosis: the transition from being what an abuser intended, to honoring the person I have always been. "Darkest Parts" is a testament to the fact that while abuse can strip away the body and mind, the spirit can still grow its own flowers from the ground up.

    These emerging flowers—nine in total, echoing the nine months since the abuse ended—are painted in deliberate repetition across the composition: nine raw-edged childhood photos spilling from the fractured cavities, nine torn journal entries cascading from deepest pain to reclaimed strength, nine repurposed direct quotes from my abuser woven into the work, and nine flowers rising upward. They include three irises outlined in white to symbolize hope, three tulips in green for rebirth, and three echinacea in purple for strength, healing, and resilience. In this way, time itself becomes a counted cycle of defiant renewal.

    Instagram: @Eclipsecreativecreations

  • Unicorn: Symbol, Warrior, Healer by Amanda Christine
    Unicorn: Symbol, Warrior, Healer by Amanda Christine

    Amanda Christine

     

    Unicorn: Symbol, Warrior, Healer

     

    Sculpture

     

    24 x 15 x 15

     

    $16000

     

     

     

    This piece serves as an emblem for my entire ethos as an artist. Made from thrifted materials and trash, beauty was created from what was previously overlooked and discarded. As rape and abuse survivors, we as a group often go from being violently mishandled and hurt — in our bodies as well as our minds and spirits — to becoming something strong, exquisite, and stunning. Much like the legendary phoenix, we rise from the ashes of our pain to soar on our own, unique terms. The storied unicorn is a mythological representative akin to the phoenix — a creature that was hunted for its horn, a purity that was violated, but one that ultimately transcends all of that to become a symbol of complete and utter innocence, and a deep and powerful healing magic.

     

     

     

     

    Instagram: @amandaupcycles

     

  • Self-Bound by Ambra Martinez
    Self-Bound by Ambra Martinez

    Ambra Martinez

    Self-Bound

    Photography

    20 x 16 x 2

    $125

     

    I have become self-bound since being a victim of sexual assault, several times in my life. Self-bound means gaining significant strength and applied knowledge, to let go of trauma, self-hatred, paranoia and fear, while creating boundaries around self-respect, priorities, self-acceptance, personal space, and how I feel about gaining control of my own life. The healing grows deeper since I have gained independence from relationships, as lonely as that is; my single status has enabled me the freedom to view the world as a survivor, no longer chasing outside validation, especially from men. Singlehood for the first time since I was 13 years old has also helped me to face the facts about being sexually exploited and violated in so many ways, so many times. I am breaking my own vicious cycles of pain, loss, perceptions of self, and torturous recall memories, by standing on my own and truly getting the time and space to think about how good it is to be alive and how strong I am for choosing to stay alive after all that has happened. Clean, sober, single.. survivor. This piece echoes the theme of being bound only to myself, as if there are two of me.. and we are in this healing together.

  • VAMPIRE, not yours by mbriggsart
    VAMPIRE, not yours by mbriggsart

    mbriggsart

    VAMPIRE, not yours

    Digital art

    12 x 18

     

    "He thought that because I looked beautiful, that I moved, that I breathed, that he could own me, that I would let him. He made me this monster, this beast, he just never expected the blood to turn against him."

    I've found Vampires to be so important to my healing as a survivor - most don't chose to become one, and yet they are revered, feared and strong. Peaches is one of the many vampires I wrote to cope with my assault, a beautiful vampire who took revenge on the man who thought he owned her.

    Instagram: @mbriggsart

  • Hair on Fire by Angelique
    Hair on Fire by Angelique

    Angelique

    Hair on Fire

    Painting

    12 x 12 x 2

    $100

    This piece is an outward expression of inner survivor emotion. It is how I view myself from the outside looking in.

  • Freedom's Ascent by Ann Drewry
    Freedom's Ascent by Ann Drewry

    Ann Drewry

    Freedom's Ascent

    Painting

    32 x 20 x 0.5

    $800

    Freedom’s Ascent is a visual meditation on healing after sexual trafficking. Rather than depicting the violence endured, this piece centers the reclamation of self and what it means to rise, slowly and deliberately, from enforced silence and control into autonomy, embodiment, and choice.

    The work reflects healing not as a single moment of transformation, but as an ongoing ascent. Each layer holds tension between fragility and strength, rupture and repair. Traces of what was endured remain present, not as wounds on display, but as evidence of survival. The ascent is not linear; it is textured, resistant, and alive.

    This piece honors the lived reality of survivors: that freedom is not bestowed, but reclaimed, often in fragments, often at great cost. Freedom’s Ascent affirms that healing does not require erasure of the past, but integration of it, allowing survivors to stand rooted in their own truth.

    Ultimately, this work is an act of witness and reclamation. It speaks to resilience without romanticizing suffering, and to liberation without demanding perfection. It is a declaration that the body, the self, and the spirit are not broken, they are rising.

  • Letting it Go by Arlette Lucero
    Letting it Go by Arlette Lucero

    Arlette Lucero

    Letting it Go

    Painting

    18 x 24 x 1

    $250

     

    Healing begins by letting go of past pain and all the sadness that were entangled with the experience. Allowing a fresh outlook in life can bring hope, self forgiveness and even joy. Breath out that which holds you in darkness. Breath in all that is good and beautiful. With God all things are possible.

     

    Arletteluc.wixsite.com/arlettelucero

    Instagram: @Luceros_luz

  • Growing Through Trauma by Artek
    Growing Through Trauma by Artek

    Artek

    Growing Through Trauma

    Drawing

    20 x 20

     

    The trauma I have experienced has fundamentally altered my brain, and thus, who I am as a person. The drawing is pointillism, consisting of tiny dots that make up the artwork, a lengthy process of time to create - similar to how trauma works and how healing is a lengthy process. The brain is my exact brain, based on an MRI image. The flowers represent growing through dark times and reaching for the light, much like a seed.

     

    Instagram: @Soilsanctuarystudio

  • Poetic Scientist by Belén Torres
    Poetic Scientist by Belén Torres

    Belén Torres

    Poetic Scientist

    Painting

    12.5 x 8.5 x 1

    $150

     

    This piece is a letter written to someone I thought I knew. It's addressed to the person that wanted love. What was, the other version of me.

     

    Instagram: @passionfrvitberlin

  • Escaping the Cage by bsotomayor
    Escaping the Cage by bsotomayor

    bsotomayor

    Escaping the Cage

    Mixed Media

    18 x 12 x 1

    $250

     

    What does a person feel and go through when leaving an ensnaring entrapment?  Those feelings can range from absolute joy to residual pain and tears.  I have chosen to represent the ensnaring situation as a cage, whether real or psychological.  Freedom is not always abundant joy but can also be very painful. The cage is located in the background to represent the past.  A survivor emerges from the cage a new person with a full range of emotions that will take time to heal.

     

    bsotomayor.com

    Instagram: @wmsotomayor

  • Surrender by Britney Smith
    Surrender by Britney Smith

    Brittney Smith

    Surrender

    Painting

    30 x 25 x 1

    $6000

     

    Someone took my flesh and left me as bones.

    The darkness consumed the life around me.

    Decomposing what was seemed like the only path for survival.

    Until there was light.

    Feathers stretched to rescue my spirit and wings that illuminated the death of myself.

    Bringing tears to our eyes that watered my invisible scars.

    Storms brought a crack of thunder

    "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body; they cannot touch your soul". Matthew 10:28

    These words clothed me and made me new in the light.

    I surrendered my bones;

    for my ribs protected my heart.

     

    Clayandcreate.com

    Instagram: @Clay_and_create

  • Tears Fall the Same Way Blood Does by BXA
    Tears Fall the Same Way Blood Does by BXA

    BXA

    Tears Fall the Same Way Blood Does

    Mixed Media

    18 x 24

     

    I was inspired by an art exhibition called “What Were You Wearing” to draw me holding the clothing I was wearing when it happened rather than wearing the dress itself. The surrounding dresses are all articles of clothing that I have been catcalled in; however, the dress I am holding is the dress I was wearing when I was sexually assaulted in May 2025.

     

    Instagram: @bxa.stxdios

  • Keys To Healing by Christi Love
    Keys To Healing by Christi Love

    Christi Love

    Keys To Healing

    Mixed Media

    52 x 17 x 3

     

    I healed from my sexual trauma by forgiving. I forgave myself, I forgave others. The flowers emerging from the letters represent the beauty that grows when you are able to forgive.

     

    clcats.org

    Instagram: @padic_

  • Undone by Christy Nelson
    Undone by Christy Nelson

    Christy Nelson

    Undone

    Other

    39 x 41 x 3.5

    $3000

     

    I work with used, soiled, and discarded—often familial—objects, transforming them into something new through art agents such as encaustic, stretcher frames, and pigment. The tangible act of redeeming salvaged forms and holding them in a moment of restoration is deeply empowering. In this altered state, the artworks move into a shared space with the viewer.

    Some works reveal holes or scars that can be closed and reopened, while others investigate what we choose to use, keep, or discard. Soft color palettes carry whispers of prior experiences. Specific materials—such as a decrepit, inherited zipper or used linens—imbue each piece with a personal narrative of former despair and hopeful re-creation.

    christynelsonart.com

    Instagram: @christynelsonart

  • The Four Faces of Eve A Tribute to Survival by Constance E. Boyle
    The Four Faces of Eve A Tribute to Survival by Constance E. Boyle

    Constance E. Boyle

    The Four Faces of Eve A Tribute to Survival

    Written work

    9 x 6 x 1

    $18.95

    The Four Faces of Eve A Tribute of Survival (book) co-authored by four Denver area poets Constance Boyle, Brooke Granville, Petra Perkins, and Gail Waldstein, is an anthology of poems published and released in February 2025 . The first section entitled #WeToo includes poems about sexual abuse. The other five sections are Amour, Motherhood, Resilience, Death/Grief, and Spirit.

  • SWEETHEART by Devyn Davis
    SWEETHEART by Devyn Davis

    Devyn Davis

    SWEETHEART

    Digital art

    10 x 8

     

    Ever since you were born ALL I have shown you is LOVE. I can see how that could be MISUNDERSTOOD. That’s what my father said when I confronted him over Sunday lunch. He had molested my brother and I when we were very young. Everyone knew why we left but no had ever spoken about it since I was 5. I had almost made it to 18 and freedom from him without losing it. No admission of fault, just those words and my brother and I knew that was his confession. I am not his SWEETHEART, I was a CHILD.

  • Resonance by Erin Kaden
    Resonance by Erin Kaden

    Erin Kaden

    Resonance

    Mixed Media

    9 x 12.5 x 0.25

    $50

     

    Collage and written word that documents

    my journey within healing.

     

    https://www.etsy.com/shop/forjanestudio

    Instagram: @forjane

  • Why did you by Esther Rivera
    Why did you by Esther Rivera

    Esther Rivera

    Why did you

    Other

    12 x 15

     

    This work displays my personal mixed emotions dealing with this assault, from confusion, to anger, to sadness.

     

    Instagram: @e.rivera.photo and ilovelilo10

  • Where’s My Mind by Jenae McCall
    Where’s My Mind by Jenae McCall

    Jenae McCall

    Where’s My Mind

    Painting

    12 x 9 

     

    Created by a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation. A peek into the ongoing recovery process for an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse, it speaks to holding many truths and contradictions at once.

  • Under the Blood Moon by Jenn Merz CQ
    Under the Blood Moon by Jenn Merz CQ

    Jenn Merz CQ

    Under the Blood Moon

    Painting

    24 x 24 x 1.5

    $625

     

    This painting is a very special one. Illustrating the true beginning of my healing journey. When Sean and I got married on 9-27-2015 in the blood moon light.

    I started 2015 as the year of “Zenn Jenn” with two min intentions. Focus on taking care of myself and not to date whatsoever; which drastically changed when we met. Six months later we were married. Sean is the first person to put me before anything else; YES, anything, including his music. It became clear that with him by my side anything is possible! Including healing from the horrific childhood traumas I endured. He is one of the greatest gifts I have received in my lifetime.

     

    www.jennmerzcolorqueen.com

    Instagram: @@jennmerzcolorqueen

  • Red-Faced Crow by Jessie Tucker
    Red-Faced Crow by Jessie Tucker

    Jessie Tucker

    Red-Faced Crow

    Painting

    22 x 18 

    $450

     

    Crow sees all. Watching, guarding, searching for what is out of sight. In honor of all of the people who have been victimized by sexual assault across the world, and those who are unable to use their own voice.

    As of 2025, an estimated:

    1:3 women worldwide are subjected to intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

    1:5 women in the U.S., and 1:2 indigenous women, experience completed or attempted rape in their lifetime. Murder is the third leading cause of death for native women.

    486,020 people in the U.S. experience sexual violence each year. That's 423,020 people 12+ and 63,000 younger children, according to the anti-sexual violence organization RAINN.

    *These statistics are all estimated and subject to widespread under-reporting, especially in the case of POC, trans people, and people with disabilities. According to the National Violence Against Women Survey, less than half of violent victimizations against women ever get reported to police.

    $122,461 is the estimated lifetime cost of rape per victim.

    13,883 reported casualties of the war in Ukraine, and 63,000 in Gaza, stand as placeholders for the number of sexual assault cases that cannot be counted due to under-reporting. Sexual assault has been a documented tool in those wars.

     

    www.jessietucker.art

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/jessietucker_art/

  • Vagina Mandala by Joy Redstone
    Vagina Mandala by Joy Redstone

    Joy Redstone

    Vagina Mandala

    Other

    30 x 18 x 4

    $300

     

    Vagina Mandala is meant to honor the power and beauty of women, especially women who have experienced sexual violation. The natural beauty of the vagina has been maligned by our misogynistic culture and the dehumanization of women is amply demonstrated by the disregard in which it is held, part of the pattern that allows sexual assault and abuse to be so widespread. This piece pays homage to my own strength as a survivor, but also is a shout out to all of the brave, strong, beautiful women who have reclaimed themselves.

     

    https://joyredstoneart.com/

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/joyredstone/

  • War Paint by Katherine Rose
    War Paint by Katherine Rose

    Katherine Rose

    War Paint

    Painting

    14 x 11

    $70

     

    This is my war.

     

    senyas9.com

    Instagram: @

  • When Healing is a Feathered Thing by Kathryn Winograd
    When Healing is a Feathered Thing by Kathryn Winograd

    Kathryn Winograd

    When Healing is a Feathered Thing

    Photography

    20 x 16

    $175

     

    “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers -

    That perches in the soul -

    And sings the tune without the words -

    And never stops - at all -“

                Emily Dickinson

    Fifty years I carried this fragile girl child within me, the girl child left on the side of a cemetery by a stranger to bleed, the girl child who entered a new world that told her that she should not bleed, should not speak. Oh, when will she get over it? her mother asked so long ago. And the fragile girl child could not, she could not. Oh, how the girl’s heart searches for the sparrow’s song until the woman learns to sing.

     

    Kathrynwinograd.com

    Instagram: @Kathywinogra

  • The Hanged Woman by Kaylee Bender
    The Hanged Woman by Kaylee Bender

    Kaylee Bender

    "The Hanged Woman"

    Painting

    48 x 60 x 1.5

    $5000

     

    A moment of pause

    Of reflection

    Of clarity

    Before swift action

    Her weapons steady in each hand

    Awaiting the strike

    The hanged woman reminds us to plan carefully and observe dutifully in the face of oppression. She is the embodiment of patience and decisive action, representing applied wisdom, observation and the strategic preparation that must take place in order to install new systems and ways of life that serve the people’s greater good.

     

    www.nokaylee.com

    Instagram: @@nokaylee

  • A Map of Survival by Kris May
    A Map of Survival by Kris May

    Kris May

    A Map of Survival

    Other

    46.5 x 16.5 x 1

    $200

     

    This work is a single, layered map composed of topographic renderings of the places where the artist’s life fractured and re-formed. It traces a series of major rifts—geographic, emotional, and bodily—beginning in early childhood and continuing through adulthood. Each map corresponds to a period of life defined not by chronology alone, but by rupture: moments when the ground gave way, shifted, or demanded navigation rather than resolution.

    Topographic maps are used intentionally. Unlike political or street maps, they record pressure, elevation, and terrain—what must be climbed, crossed, or endured. They allow invisible forces to become visible. In this work, chasms, sinkholes, rivers, ridges, and boundary lines are not metaphorical embellishments but functional descriptions of lived experience.

    The sequence begins in early childhood, where the first chasm opens before language is available to name it. Subsequent maps mark compounded harm, survival, consent under unequal power, endurance within scale and density, and a return to land that offers grounding rather than closure. Interspersed among these rift maps is two maps of genuinely joyful places—included not as contrast alone, but as evidence. Joy confirms that loss occurred; relief proves pressure existed.

    The work only names that resonated physically with the artist—names that arrived uninvited and would not let go—are included. This restraint resists narrative consumption. Viewers are not asked to decode a story, but to recognize terrain.

    Although the maps originate in the artist’s personal history, they are not presented as autobiography in the traditional sense. They function instead as shared cartography. Many people learn to navigate danger long before they learn to name it. Many survive by reading land—emotional, relational, physical—rather than by trusting structures meant to protect them.

    This map was created first as a survival tool, then as a way to see the pattern from above. It is offered now to anyone who recognizes these contours. It does not provide directions out. It simply shows that someone crossed this ground, marked where it collapsed, noted where it held, and lived long enough to draw the map.

  • Please Read Carefully by Lettie Umphrey
    Please Read Carefully by Lettie Umphrey

    Lettie Umphrey

    Please Read Carefully

    Other

    8 x 6  

     

    I created this piece the day the police department called to tell me I wouldn’t be receiving justice, as he had hired a lawyer and refused the interrogation. I felt overwhelmed with frustration and defeat, questioning what the point of going to the police had even been. Art has always been a place of comfort for me, and this was the first piece I made after the accident. I poured my heart into it, and I believe the emotions I was carrying are visible in the work itself. This piece has continued to help me heal—it was a turning point that allowed me to understand that what happened was not my fault, and that I am more than my story.

  • Sarah in a Dryer by Lorraine Herrera Bonilla
    Sarah in a Dryer by Lorraine Herrera Bonilla

    Lorraine Herrera Bonilla

    Sarah in a Dryer

    Painting

    48 x 36 x 1.75

    $650

     

    Sarah in a Dryer is about looking out from a place of what seems to be safety…closed off, maybe invisible but being in there is claustrophobic.

     

    Instagram: @lorraineherrerabonillaart

  • A Seed Of Hope And Change by Luis Pulido Diaz
    A Seed Of Hope And Change by Luis Pulido Diaz

    Luis Pulido Diaz

    A Seed Of Hope And Change

    Painting

    12.5 x 8.5 x 2

    $80

     

    Just like a delicate sunflower, they have a past. It could have been rough, cruel or unfair. Every sunflower has seeds that contain hope and change. They have the power to regrow and to turn towards the light and bloom again, despite the past.

     

    Instagram: @luis_pulido_diaz

  • Path to Inner Safety by Lynea Lipp
    Path to Inner Safety by Lynea Lipp

    Lynea Lipp

     

    Path to Inner Safety

     

    Painting

     

    36 x 24 x 3

     

    $5000

     

     

     

     

     

    “Path to Inner Safety” explores the internal landscape of surviving sexual violence — the long, nonlinear journey of returning to one’s own body after it has been violated. Survival does not end when the event ends. It continues quietly, internally, in the nervous system and in the spaces where memory and sensation intersect.

     

    Two opposing vortexes represent dual states that often coexist within survivors. One burns with warmth and intensity — hypervigilance, anger, memory, and the body’s instinct to stay alert in a world that once proved unsafe. The other cools into blue — dissociation, numbness, silence, and the protective reflex to detach when embodiment feels unbearable. These forces can pull simultaneously, leaving a survivor suspended between overwhelm and absence.

     

    Between these polarities, a path emerges. It is not linear or polished; it grows organically through layered color and texture. This central corridor symbolizes the gradual reclamation of inner safety. For many survivors, safety is not restored externally. It must be cultivated internally — through therapy, boundaries, breath, ritual, community, and self-trust rebuilt piece by fragile piece.

     

    Embedded along this path are crystals. They catch light differently than the painted surface, interrupting the flatness of the canvas. These crystals symbolize moments of clarity and grounding — tangible anchors in the healing process. They represent protective practices, support systems, spiritual tools, and the sacred act of choosing to remain present. Crystals are formed under pressure; their presence here reflects the truth that resilience, too, is forged in compression. What once felt shattering can, over time, refract light.

     

    The scattered flecks of brightness throughout the center echo this idea. They are the small victories often invisible to others: a boundary held, a trigger survived, a night slept through, a breath taken without bracing. Healing does not arrive as a single revelation. It accumulates in glimmers.

     

    The outer edges of the canvas remain shadowed. Trauma is not erased. Instead, this work honors integration — the process of allowing pain and power to coexist. “Path to Inner Safety” acknowledges fragmentation while affirming the profound courage required to return home to oneself.

     

     

     

     

     

    Lyneaart.com

    Instagram: @Artbygoddesslynea

  • Burn shattered and rising from the ashes by Mar Kummerman
    Burn shattered and rising from the ashes by Mar Kummerman

    Mar Kummerman

    Burn shattered and rising from the ashes

    Mixed Media

    16 x 12

     

    A multimedia art piece painted with embroidery. This painting represents the artist feeling of their nervous system on fire and is used to process that feeling that still occurs years after surviving CSA. This painting is to process that even though that feeling still comes you can rise and heal.

     

    Instagram: @mar_is_tired

  • Survivors Shed Their Skin With Time And Support by Marissa Forbes
    Survivors Shed Their Skin With Time And Support by Marissa Forbes

    Marissa Forbes

     

    Survivors Shed Their Skin With Time And Support

     

    Mixed Media

     

    28 x 22 x 1

     

    $150

     

     

     

     

     

    "Survivors Shed Their Skin With Time And Support" is a nod to both Medusa, a Greek figure who is a modern symbol for sexual abuse survivors and the way we become new people through healing.

     

     

     

    marissaforbes.com

     

     

     

    Instagram: @word_nerd_ris

     

  • 2012 by Mary Lang
    2012 by Mary Lang

    Mary Lang

    2012

    Sculpture

    8 x 7 x 4

    $175

     

    A figure lies on its side, its surface cracked and broken. Inside, a deep green emerges—not decay, but the beginning of life.

    The outer fracture reflects how survivors see ourselves: broken, fragmented. Yet within, something alive persists.

    Place your hands on the surface. Offer steadiness. Feel the strength still held within.

     

    Instagram: @Anamcaraceramics

  • Bouquet of Tears by May Wadsworth
    Bouquet of Tears by May Wadsworth

    May Wadsworth

    Bouquet of Tears

    Painting

    18 x 24 

    $750

     

    One night of escaping domestic abuse brought me to a motel. I asked a stranger for a cigarette, and this stranger followed me into my hotel room where he took advantage of me.

    I was already covered in bruises, what were a few more? It felt like my pain was enticing. My tears were too beautiful to wipe away.

    Two months after that night, I moved 380 miles away from home, left my abuser, found Blue Bench, and there I was given tools to save my own life.

    My pain propelled my growth; like fire preparing the soil for my garden. I am blooming from the watering of my tears. Becoming complete from the broken pieces of my heart.

     

    Instagram: @I.may.or.i.may.not.be.art

     

  • Doormat by Megan Marie
    Doormat by Megan Marie

    Megan Marie

    Doormat

    Mixed Media

    17 x 14

    $100

     

    My body is not a doormat. For all those who thought they could get away with violating my innocence, my soul and wellbeing. They chose to use me to abuse me then bruise me, choke me while they tore me down as they walked on me, stalked me then tried to threaten me. Tug my body, the existence of them forever disgust me as they rape me, permanently scarring my memories with night terrors forever haunting me.

    However the fight in me always grew and they underestimated my resilience and strength. I forever freed myself from all of them, their evil is nonexistent now as a long distant past. For fifteen years I heal my way  forward in a never ending mending journey of many traumatic wounds. I choose to transform my suffering into deep knowledge, finding fearlessness in my own worthiness. I refuse to accept other’s mistreatment of my body, mind,  soul and wellbeing, for I refuse to allow others to mistake me as a doormat

  • I've got that dog in me by Mimi Bogard
    I've got that dog in me by Mimi Bogard

    Mimi Bogard

    I've got that dog in me

    Painting

    20 x 32 x 1

    $1000

     

    Jungian psychology acknowledges multiple experiences of the self, including a "shadow." This alter ego hides below the surface, holding the parts of ourselves that we don't want to acknowledge.

    My trauma has taken up permanent residence inside of me. The evil that I fear takes on the form of the hurt that I absorbed, as if it's trying to replicate itself. Often, I wish I could throw it in the garbage, but I've found that just isn't possible. It's my shadow. I'm trying to regard them as guard dogs and protectors, rather than impediments and abusive bosses. I feel wary, but I have no choice but to get to know them, on their own terms.

    This piece is a diptych. I'm inspired by Renaissance altarpieces that use multiple panels to convey a larger message out of more than one painting.

     

    Instagram: @mimimakesstuff2024

     

  • “Finding myself again” by Mo DeVillier
    “Finding myself again” by Mo DeVillier

    Mo DeVillier

    “Finding myself again”

    Painting

    24 x 24 x 1

     

    I am more than the darkness you left behind, the clouds will part and I will not be afraid of being seen again.”

     

    Www.morgandevillierarts.com

  • Biofouling by Olivia Bode
    Biofouling by Olivia Bode

    Olivia Bode

    Biofouling

    Sculpture

    72 x 24 x 24

     

    Using marine imagery of unwanted accumulation, Biofouling explores navigating intimacy in the aftermath of sexual trauma. Like a surface altered by invasive growth, the body bears marks of uninvited contact. Encrusted forms capture  tension between damage and adaptation, confronting stigma while reframing survival as an ongoing transformation. What initially appears as corrosion now presents as persistence—life continuing, altered but intact, grotesque yet beautiful, claiming space on its own terms.

     

    Instagram: @oliviabode

  • Autonomy by Olivia Dorencz
    Autonomy by Olivia Dorencz

    Olivia Dorencz

    Autonomy

    Painting

    20 x 16 x 1.5

    $550

     

    Increasing threats to reproductive rights and medical challenges have caused me to feel as though my body is not my own, similar to feelings I had when processing sexual abuse. The piece is inspired by Goya's "Saturn Devouring his Son", in which Saturn is displayed consuming his son out of fear of a prophecy that the son will overthrow him. Perhaps the only way to avoid the threats to my body are for me to consume my body myself.

     

    punkratart.com

    Instagram: @punkratart

  • You are my sunshine by Prisma
    You are my sunshine by Prisma

    Prisma

    You are my sunshine

    Painting

    20 x 20 

    $200

     

    I think every time I look at this art piece I’ve done it reminds me that I got through some of the darkest time this is one shows a bright yellow sunflower. The bright color lighten the whole painting. It feels warm.

  • "Soul Rise" (the song) by Qiana Glaze
    "Soul Rise" (the song) by Qiana Glaze

    Qiana Glaze

    "Soul Rise" ( the song)

    Painting

    30 x 24 x 24

    $250

     

    This piece is about a soul on the rise. The colors chosen for this piece is dominant orange and silver..the orange representing the will and silver representing the higher self. For the work of the inner self is the only way to rise. When you have been violated you may never think you shall rise and sing again but you will through self love and self preservation and to sing is self preservation.

     

    Instagram: @Foryour3rdeyecreations

  • Untitled by Qiana Glaze
    Untitled by Qiana Glaze

    Qiana Glaze

    Untitled

    Painting

    42 x 44 x 40

    $2000

     

    It's an interpretive piece. Moody.

     

    Instagram: @For Your 3rd Eye Creations

  • Dancing in the dark by Rachal Purgason
    Dancing in the dark by Rachal Purgason

    Rachal Purgason

    Dancing in the dark

    Mixed Media

    48 x 30 

    $175

     

    Even in dark times, your light is still bright.

  • The Wedding - Post Traumatic Growth by Roddy MacInnes
    The Wedding - Post Traumatic Growth by Roddy MacInnes

    Roddy MacInnes

    The Wedding - Post Traumatic Growth

    Photography

    30 x 20 x 1

    $500

     

    A significant outcome was recognizing that childhood sexual trauma created a healing space within my imagination for Nina Weiste to reside. In that space, Nina has become my partner. As a psychological construct, the relationship offers a productive terrain for contemplating the creative potential of interconnection. I married an idea. I married possibility.

     

    https://roddymac.com/home.html

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/weeroddy/

  • Uncovering My Heart by Roke Aker
    Uncovering My Heart by Roke Aker

    Roke Aker

    Uncovering My Heart

    Digital art

    30 x 24 x 2

     

    “Uncovering My Heart” reflects my personal journey of finding my way home; back to the parts of myself I once hid, silenced, or forgot. It’s about healing my inner child and learning to love the person I’ve become after walking through so much pain, loss, and transformation.

    For over thirty years, I’ve been on a path of uncovering what it truly means to live with an open heart. There were times when the weight of the past felt unbearable, when I didn’t know how to move forward, and when hope seemed far away. Yet, little by little, through love, truth, and the support of others, I began to heal.

    Each brushstroke in this painting carries a memory, a lesson, a prayer. It tells the story of obstacles overcome, tears released, and the quiet moments of grace that showed me I was never truly alone. The process of painting became an act of forgiveness of honoring where I’ve been and embracing the person I am becoming.

    “Uncovering My Heart” is both a celebration and a release. It reminds me that healing is not a single moment but a lifelong unfolding. I am grateful for every part of this journey; the pain, the beauty, the growth, and the deep sense of peace that comes from finally finding my way home to myself.

  • I See You by Sakiynah R. Wise
    I See You by Sakiynah R. Wise

    Sakiynah R. Wise

    I See You

    Mixed Media

    42.5 x 9 x 1.5

    $250

     

    I've scheduled meetings with you multiple times, you never showed up. Over and over, important questions arose that you were never available to answer. Time passed, tears swelled and my resentment toward you grew. I couldn't see what I did wrong, how I must've misstepped in some way. Until that night, you wrote me more broken than when we last spoke. I wanted to feed you the crumbs you left me but I saw you. Something shifted, and your unsent messages popped up, my spam folder was full! Why didn't I see these before? I was never mad at you, it was never your fault. They told you you deserved little so you took less. They told you, you were nothing so when they took from you, you thought it was ok. You thought that's what you were worth...nothing. You were angry with me because you feared my love and the innocence they stole, you thought running from me would prevent recurrence but I was never the cause. I'm glad you reached out and I hope we can keep unveiling who we truly are. I see you, us blooming, our colors peaking through the darkness we once feared. I see you

     

    Instagram: @kiy.nah.sa

  • The Weight We Bear by Sarafina Feldman
    The Weight We Bear by Sarafina Feldman

    Sarafina Feldman

    The Weight We Bear

    Mixed Media

    18 x 12 x 1

    $145

     

    There are moments in your life that live with you forever; some hold more weight than others. Often, that weight is invisible to those around you, yet it is something of which you are profoundly aware. It is an inescapable weight. A fractured you. A sense you cannot shake.

     

    Instagram: @dirty_red_banadana_art

  • Discovered Peace by Sharlene Dianne
    Discovered Peace by Sharlene Dianne

    Sharlene Dianne

    Discovered Peace

    Painting

    40 x 18 x 2

    $1200

     

    I sat with this canvas to work through a day of trauma.... Give me my cell permission just to put paint on a canvas with no particular plan....

    I did not expect to turn that canvas into a peaceful beauty.

  • Pornography Goes Public by skye g.
    Pornography Goes Public by skye g.

    skye g.

    Pornography Goes Public

    Other

    20 x 16 x 1

    $40

     

    This piece is meant to explore the correlation between the porn industry and the harm that porn (especially violent/rape porn) causes to the view of women. I've been a victim of a more aggressive sexual assault and am horrified by the way these "rape fantasies" are quite mainstream in porn these days.

     

    Instagram: @fairskyecreations

  • The Disease to Please by Sophie Hernandez
    The Disease to Please by Sophie Hernandez

    Sophie Hernandez

    The Disease to Please

    Mixed Media

    16 x 19 x 0

    $175

     

    This piece displays feminine anger, emotion, and guilt associated with the trauma of being assaulted, harassed, and more forwardly, being a chronic people-pleaser. As a recovering people-pleaser myself, this piece hits home in a way where not everyone will relate. The people pleaser has learned to keep her mouth shut, to only speak "positively" even when she has experienced harm, and to protect predators. But we deserve to be heard too.

     

    https://sophielohernandez.wixsite.com/sophia-hernandez

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/sophie_lorenn/

  • "U.N.I.T.Y" by Syd Lee
    "U.N.I.T.Y" by Syd Lee

    Syd Lee

    "U.N.I.T.Y"

    Other

    60 x 48 x 24

     

    "U.N.I.T.Y" is a song by Queen Latifah about the unity amongst all women in facing sexual harassment. This work is the culmination of frustration, for myself and the many women I know who have experienced sexual assault without any justice or repercussions. In this piece, the viewer is forced to put themselves into the shoes of a SA survivor, or those who were confided in, and confront them with how they would feel as they place their head in the hole of the photo cut-out and decide what expression to use. The backside of the piece is an expression of the reality of that feeling, where survivors and empathizers are given a space to share their stories and frustrations, giving a voice to those who often go unheard. I encourage those who want to share to engage and write on the back of the piece, which also serves as a representation of this community where you are not alone in your experience.

     

    sydlee.art

  • Turning Point by Tatum Elizabeth
    Turning Point by Tatum Elizabeth

    Tatum Elizabeth

    Turning Point

    Other

    24 x 24 x 2

    $1100

     

    It had been 10 years since I bought my first truck-stop porn magazine. I had collaged these images as a cathartic process to transform something dark and difficult into something new. This piece was made for the 10 year anniversary of that day.

     

    Instagram: @tatum_elizabeth_artistry


     

  • Never Again by Taylor Carlton
    Never Again by Taylor Carlton

    Taylor Carlton

     

    Never Again

     

    Other

     

    28 x 22 x 0.5

     

     

    This is a stained glass portrait of medusa, created after I left a dv situation. The face is my own face. I learned about Medusa imagery being used as a symbol of SA survivors. The snakes depicted are made using real snake shed from a friends snake, pressed between layers of glass

     

    Www.cicada-arts.com

     

    Instagram: @cicadaglassworks

     

  • "Couldn't Be Happier" by Tori Price
    "Couldn't Be Happier" by Tori Price

    Tori Price

    "Couldn't Be Happier"

    Mixed Media

    15 x 12 x 0.75

    $333

     

    I felt separate from others growing up because I experienced sexual trauma at a young age. I kept these memories to myself so I could project an image of normalcy and happiness (even when traumas kept occurring as I grew older). With our culture pushing happiness as the key to life, I felt pressured to put on a happy face for others' comfort while masking how alone and disconnected I felt inside. Being honest with others about our true feelings is important for connection, support and healing.

     

    toripriceart.com

    Instagram: @toripriceart

  • End of silence by Veronica L.
    End of silence by Veronica L.

    Veronica L.

    End of silence

    Drawing

    30 x 21

    $740

     

    This piece in charcoal reflects the quiet strength it takes to erase the marks left by others and the gentle healing that begins when what once hurt is finally spoken.

     

    Esenciafinearts@gmail.com

    Instagram: @esenciafinearts

  • The Hope Garden by Veronica Mendoza
    The Hope Garden by Veronica Mendoza

    Veronica Mendoza

    The Hope Garden

    Mixed Media

    36 x 24 x 2

    $650

     

    The Hope Garden is a representation of my minds chaotic but optimistic healing process. It symbolically portrays my efforts of transforming “bad love” and abuse while preserving the lover girl inside. The piece shows the correspondence of healing trauma and primal love evolving and growing. New synapses, new blooms. This piece includes recycled papers, real pressed flora, moss, and found structural material.

     

    Instagram: @planbgoblin

  • Space of Disassociation by Ginny Hollinger
    Space of Disassociation by Ginny Hollinger

    Ginny Hollinger

    Space of Disassociation

    Painting

    18 x 24 x 1

    $100

     

    The peace that comes with escaping to your own safe space is key when trying to understand this painting. The chaos of everything is overwhelming, but the nothingness of space is comforting. Yet there is still beauty to bathe in. There is still that spark of rebellion that pushes through, like the bright and deep colors of the cosmos.

     

    Instagram: @astralnavigation

  • Lingering in Happiness by Vonalda Utterback
    Lingering in Happiness by Vonalda Utterback

    Vonalda Utterback

    Lingering in Happiness

    Mixed Media

    24 x 6 x 0.75

    $350

     

    Lingering in Happiness explores healing, self-forgiveness and courage. Below the idealistic, peaceful scene is tranquil turquoise water, yet the Encaustic wax emphasizes the rough, imperfect nature of a path to peace. The wax is beautiful and ethereal yet also obscures the words beneath it. How do you show up in the world when hope, healing, guilt and despair live in you, all at the same time?

     

    artbyvonalda.com

    Instagram: @artbyvonalda


     

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