Through painting, sculpture, drawings and other media, survivors feel more willing to share their stories. They regain the power taken away from them. They heal and, in doing so, strengthen and inspire others.
That is the underlying theme in the exhibit of domestic violence and sexual assault survivor artwork that will be on display at the Gail Floether Steinhilber Art Gallery in Reeve Memorial Union starting Sept. 27. A public reception for the “Never Silent” exhibition will also be woven into the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s and regional community domestic violence and sexual assault service agencies’ 21st Annual Fox Valley Take Back The Night event on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
Shelly Rutz, outreach coordinator and clinical social worker with the UW Oshkosh Counseling Center, said the exhibition developed based on the recommendation of the university’s MenCARE student director. That organization is a collective of men, many of them UW Oshkosh students, committed to outreach, education and action in the mission of ending violence and sexual assault against women.
“The ‘Never Silent’ exhibition is a great way of personalizing the impacts of violence in our community,” Rutz said. “So often we hear the statistics, or see reports on the news of a victim who made a false report. Our survivors’ art shows the real impacts of violence and the resulting trauma. The art also demonstrates their strength to survive and educate others.”
The Fox Valley Take Back The Night events will include the traditional resource fair, rally and march into Oshkosh, coordinated with University and city of Oshkosh Police partners. The event is co-sponsored and coordinated by several vital Fox Valley community agencies, including Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services, Inc., Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs, Inc., Reach Counseling Services, Sexual Assault Crisis Center of the Fox Cities, Inc., and the UW Oshkosh Counseling and Women’s Centers.
Hundreds of supporters, advocates and allies from throughout the Fox Valley region annually participate in the event.
Following the 5:30 p.m. Fox Valley Take Back The Night resource fair and activities set in Reeve’s Ballroom, the Madison area’s Angel Divas will perform as part of the evening’s rally – the portion of the evening designed to expose its audience to information about domestic and sexual violence and empower all to support victims, survivors, their families and friends.
The evening’s march will launch and conclude at Reeve. Participants will be invited to a post-march reception at the Steinhilber Gallery, where the “Never Silent” exhibit is scheduled to run through October 6.
“We never blame someone for being murdered or mugged,” Rutz said. “But somehow we, as a society, put all the blame on victims of sexual or dating/domestic violence. We let the perpetrator of the violence off the hook when we blame the victim. I hope people will start to ask questions about the abuser and start holding them accountable for their crimes. I also hope people will start to do something – to reach out to their friend if they are a victim, to stop blaming victims, to do something to intervene or call the police when you see violence happening. We can’t afford to stand by and watch something happen. It is not just a problem between the victim and abuser. It is all of our problem.”
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