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| This is the cover for our website and the logo we are using to begin with. The concept and design were carried out in collaboration between me and one of my former students, the ridiculously talented, Nevan Doyle. Check out his incredible work! |
Hello folks!
This will be a considerably shorter post than most of my others, because I just want to share the news, a little background, and let you all explore the creation we have made!
Today, my partner, Katy Hamm, and I launch our new nonprofit art/storytelling project--the Art of Survival. Be sure to check out the website for the project at www.artissurvival.com!
And check out the welcome video below
Mission
The Art of Survival exists to create a safe-space for survivors. We believe in the positive impact of storytelling, empowerment through creativity, and the resilience of the human spirit.Through sharing personal stories, we hope that survivors will allow themselves take back power and control of their own bodies and experiences. Through reading the experiences of others, we hope to decrease the sense of isolation in survivors. Through creating art free-of-charge for each storyteller based on their personal form of resilience, we hope to create a sense of community support and love.
During its debut, The Art of Survival is participating in Sexual Assault Awareness month by focusing on stories from survivors of sexual violence. Throughout the project, we hope to also focus on survivors of suicide attempts, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, body & gender dysphoria, queer experiences, domestic and intimate partner violence, violent crime, PTSD, and more.
We are also looking forward to the opportunity to host online D.I.Y. art-therapy nights where artists can teach viewers or participants their techniques, in hopes that folks can take those techniques and create their own works of art to help them work through and overcome obstacles.
We believe in resiliency. We believe in art. We believe in you.
The Reason
The reason we started this project was because at the ACPA Convention in Montreal earlier this month, we were inspired to use our art to give back. We were inspired during the PK talks at how many people were sharing stories of triumph over so many personal issues, including myself, so we thought, damn—we need to give back. Already.Because during my 14 month job search, SO MANY PEOPLE reached out to help both Katy and me by commissioning my art. The support was overwhelming. And doing all of that art is truly what kept me alive. And we now feel it is our turn to give back through art in a way that will help survivors heal, the way art has helped us heal throughout our lives.
So we are offering FREE—yes, FREE art created specifically for survivors who share their story with us for this project. Each piece will be individualized to each survivor's story—or, the piece can be of anything else that they feel is tied to their survival in life.
And in both of us living to true punk ethics, we figured that we would do this ourselves and create a community for survivors that centers around art, creativity, and storytelling. We reached out to some folks to help with website design, storytelling, and setting up a store, and now we are set to launch!
That's how the idea came about!
The First Wave of the Project
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| This consent design is available for purchase on a t-shirt through our website! |
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. So during the month of April, we will be sharing stories of survivors of sexual violence. When we first conceived of the idea, I put out a call to my immediate social media networks, asking for any survivors of sexual violence to reach out. Within two days, we had over 40 responses! Which is incredible and heartbreaking. But I'm so excited to share these stories!
We already have the first 20 or so pieces ready to post, so if you'd like to get in this month, please let us know through the website, at Share Your Story!
Also, we will continue to share everyone's story beyond April, of course, as we open the project to include more forms of survival from trauma.
It is important to note that all survivors who reach out to The Art of Survival are given the option to remain anonymous in sharing their story. If a survivor does not want their identity known, we will not share it. Survivors share their story in their words, completely free of judgment.
As the project progresses and evolves, we will be adding MORE shirt designs for each form of survival that we wind up sharing during the project so that more folks can sport something that makes them proud of their survival.
Again, if you are a survivor of sexual violence and want to share your story with us, or if you're a survivor of any of the other aforementioned forms of trauma and want to share your story, please CLICK HERE!
Special note about the shirts:
We partnered with the incredible folks at WhataManeuver.net, which is a professional wrestling t-shirt site (because we are HUGE wrestling fans), and they have offered to host our store for us! So please, please, please, check out their site and buy some shirts to spread the word!
More information on this collaboration is in the store section of our site!
The Artist Team
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| This is an incredible piece done by Emily Lopez. |
I will be doing the bulk of the art for the first 20 or so pieces, simply because I have already connected with those people. From there, the pieces will be assigned by survivor preference of artist, which is an option done on the Share your Story entry!
Katy will also be on board for your realism replication art requests—be it through painting or graphic design. They will also be on board to offer free photo sessions for any survivor in the New England area, within driving distance of Boston.
We are also excited to have the INCREDIBLY talented, Emily Lopez, join our team as an artist, from my home-state of Oregon! She and I went to college together, she was one of the earliest people to ever commission a piece from me back in 2012/2013, and I am STOKED that she is helping us out.
So if you are a survivor and you'd like to have her paint your piece for you, you can choose to do so!
If you are an artist interested in joining our team, please CLICK HERE, or email us at artissurvival@gmail.com.
Stay Connected!
Make sure to follow our social media accounts as well!
We will be posting positive affirmations, articles on survival, picture updates, story updates, and videos of our creation process and the work of other artists who join our team!
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/theartofsurvival
INSTAGRAM: @_ARTofSURVIVAL
We also offer a HUGE selection of resources for survivor support on our website!
CLICK HERE to access those resources.
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Thanks so much for checking this out!
Be well.
And stay tuned for the next phases of the project!
- Craig & Katy.
PS: WE ALSO HAVE STICKERS!!!
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