Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
Read real stories about inspiring women and be empowered to look after your mind, body and spirit through the good and bad times.
This community art gallery is designed to centre survivor voice and agency by providing a safely moderated creative platform where individuals can express their experiences, perspectives, and responses to sexual violence.
We want to foster community connection and increase awareness, and this gallery is a form of artistic advocacy which is accessible and safe for those who need it.
Submission type, artist description, themes, content warnings, artist credit / info…
Traditional Art: pencil on paper
These two pieces are on identity & self-exploration, by Annabel, who is a 15 year old female.
Text reads:
Whakapapa e here nei i ahau e i aku mātua tipuna
E mau ana te tiki i te mana o ngā tūpuna
Hei taonga pupuri mātauranga te hei tiki
Traditional Art: pencil on paper
Traditional Art
Content warnings for sexual violence (non-graphic), trauma, and death/grief/loss.
This zine touches on the themes of sexual violence, harm, healing, recovery, anger, & resistance.
This zine was created by Riley De Vaal, who is a 20 year old non-binary person who you can find @infestedwithfairies (on Instagram).
The prelude to this work reads:
My name is Riley, I am 19, I use they/them/their pronouns. I am inviting you to witness a side of me I try to hide.
Vulnerable. Organic. Unseen.
7 Layers of Skin is inspired by the “7 Stages of Grief” concept. This is my experience with trying to cope with the trauma of being raped. With the devotion of some beloved friends, I have been able to encapsulate my deviating journey of healing for you in the most intimate and authentic way possible.
The ambition I have to continue venturing into the world of art, no matter how unconventional, controversial or confronting, is rooted in my sincerest wish to comfort the disturbed, and rattle the fuck out of the sheltered. That being said, please pursue your role as a viewer with care and grace for your wellbeing.
This spoken word/poem touches on the themes of healing, recovery, anger, resistance, identity & self-exploration. This piece is by Taara, who is a 17 year old female. You can find her @Staara_
This piece is on healing & recovery, by Taara, who is a 17 year old female. You can find her @Staara_
The two swans making a heart symbolise healing a broken heart from a world too rotten for pure souls.
Lotus blooms in water,
yet she is pure of its corruption.
She elevates herself, far from the mud,
far from the death and decay diluted in the water.
Her roots drink from the moon, but she is the sun.
Born in a world too rotten for her soul.
Left fragile, yet unshaken.
See her pain,
conflict,
imperfection
as a call for her to bloom, to become stronger.
She chooses to not drown in her troubles, yet to daringly survive.
To bloom like a lotus is to rebel against the siege of being a flower,
because the more the you struggle
the more effervescent you become.
In the end
the deeper the mud,
the more angelic the lotus blooms.