{"id":26246,"date":"2016-01-27T14:49:55","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T20:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=26246"},"modified":"2016-02-16T10:15:55","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T16:15:55","slug":"survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carlos D. Williamson<\/strong><\/p>\n

An art gallery on Chicago\u2019s Northwest Side that typically showcases the work of survivors of sexual abuse and rape is helping support a new cause.<\/p>\n

The Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery<\/a> is featuring an exhibit that shows the artwork of survivors of human trafficking. While most survivors of trafficking have been the victims of sexual abuse, others have been subjected to slave labor. Through art-therapy sessions and workshops, these survivors channeled their pain into powerful, abstract imagery and expression.
\n<\/p>\n

\u201cArt therapy can be very, very powerful for survivors of anything,\u201d said Laura Kinter, marketing director at the Awakenings Foundation. \u201cWe all have something to heal from, and it allows you to express yourself in a way that isn\u2019t just talking, isn\u2019t writing about something. It takes something out of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

To raise awareness about human trafficking in Chicago, the gallery, the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force<\/a> and STOP-IT, a Salvation Army program that works with trafficked survivors, teamed up to present the \u201cArt of Healing.\u201d The exhibit opened on Jan. 11, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and will continue through Feb. 29 at 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave.<\/p>\n

\""All<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Survivor Starz uses a collage of words and images to decorate the front of a lunch box.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""All<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Starz draws abstract images on the back of the lunch box.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Healing<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
This painting is the first part of a triptych by Dia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Healing<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
This artwork is the second part of Dia’s triptych. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Healing<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
This is the final installment of Dia’s work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Moonflower"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
This is a painting by survivor Ty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Silence<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Ty paints powerful, abstract imagery in this portrait.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Invisible<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Ty uses acrylic paint in this artwork.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\""Goddess<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Artist and survivor Prerna uses pen, aluminum foil and paint in this sketch.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\nSince January is also National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Kinter said the subject is timely and needs to be talked about more frequently, even if it\u2019s difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of [the art] is very beautiful. Some of it\u2019s really hard to look at,\u201d Kinter said. \u201cAnd some people ask us, \u2018Why do you choose such difficult artwork?\u2019 Well, it\u2019s not what we choose, it\u2019s what comes out of a survivor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artwork is a healthy form of expression for survivors, and such activities encourage creativity and enable them to find effective methods of healing, said Kristina Sundermann, a board-certified art therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you start using art materials, music, movement, dance, any of those things, you\u2019re starting to engage more of that emotional feeling side of the brain, the right side of the brain,\u201d Sundermann said. \u201cIn order to really heal that experience, you have to go into the other side — the emotional feeling — and be able to understand what was damaged and be able to heal that piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

But before Sundermann teamed up with STOP-IT to conduct workshops, she wanted to be sure that participants had already gone \u201cthrough a good deal of counseling specifically related to trauma,\u201d she said. Sundermann didn\u2019t want the artists to be held back by their traumatic past.<\/p>\n

The exhibition features 16 abstract portraits and a lunchbox adorned with quaint, colorful imagery. Through their artwork, the survivors convey mostly anguish, distress and perseverance. And the triptych titled \u201cHealing Process\u201d by Dia shows just that: The first panel is a painting of an open gash; in the second, the wound is bandaged, and the last combines image and text. The wound is less visible and almost pale in color. And the text reads \u201cI Am ..\/ Strong\/ Brave\/ Unique\/ Alive\/ Better\/ Kind\/ Healthy\/ Changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

To avoid revealing their identities, the survivors signed their paintings with pseudonyms. But despite the progress they\u2019ve made by creating their work, Summar Ghias, a task force coordinator at STOP-IT, said healing isn\u2019t always a linear process.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrauma is complicated, and the way that it manifests isn\u2019t necessarily like, \u2018I feel good now,\u2019 \u201d Ghias said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a process where you\u2019ll have to dig and you\u2019ll have bad days. When we work with our survivors, we want to give them the mental health support that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Prerna’s painting and sketch is one of 17 works of art that will be on exhibit at the Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery through Feb. 29. (Carlos D. Williamson\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carlos D. Williamson An art gallery on Chicago\u2019s Northwest Side that typically showcases the work of survivors of sexual abuse and rape is helping support a new cause. The Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery is featuring an exhibit that shows the artwork of survivors of human trafficking. While most survivors of trafficking have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":26243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,675,585],"tags":[665,1024,1045,1026,1022,625,1023],"class_list":["post-26246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-social-justice","category-winter-2016","tag-arts-and-culture","tag-awakenings-foundation-center-and-gallery","tag-cook-county-human-trafficking-task-force","tag-human-trafficking","tag-sexual-abuse","tag-social-justice","tag-stop-it"],"yoast_head":"\nSurvivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Carlos D. Williamson An art gallery on Chicago\u2019s Northwest Side that typically showcases the work of survivors of sexual abuse and rape is helping support a new cause. The Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery is featuring an exhibit that shows the artwork of survivors of human trafficking. While most survivors of trafficking have been […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-27T20:49:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-16T16:15:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"837\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"carloswilliamson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"carloswilliamson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/\",\"name\":\"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-27T20:49:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-16T16:15:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c74e799171efdd5c0f5742246bd2f2ce\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":837,\"caption\":\"Prerna's painting and sketch is one of 17 works of art on exhibit at the Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c74e799171efdd5c0f5742246bd2f2ce\",\"name\":\"carloswilliamson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/49214cfcadd0513599d50f076e50b1250a1599aac5928b198a23031e622f8c90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/49214cfcadd0513599d50f076e50b1250a1599aac5928b198a23031e622f8c90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"carloswilliamson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/carloswilliamson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Carlos D. Williamson An art gallery on Chicago\u2019s Northwest Side that typically showcases the work of survivors of sexual abuse and rape is helping support a new cause. The Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery is featuring an exhibit that shows the artwork of survivors of human trafficking. While most survivors of trafficking have been […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2016-01-27T20:49:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-02-16T16:15:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":837,"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"carloswilliamson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"carloswilliamson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/","name":"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg","datePublished":"2016-01-27T20:49:55+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-16T16:15:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c74e799171efdd5c0f5742246bd2f2ce"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/01\/Feature-Image-3.jpg","width":1100,"height":837,"caption":"Prerna's painting and sketch is one of 17 works of art on exhibit at the Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/survivors-of-human-trafficking-heal-through-art\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Survivors of Human Trafficking Heal Through Art"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/c74e799171efdd5c0f5742246bd2f2ce","name":"carloswilliamson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/49214cfcadd0513599d50f076e50b1250a1599aac5928b198a23031e622f8c90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/49214cfcadd0513599d50f076e50b1250a1599aac5928b198a23031e622f8c90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"carloswilliamson"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/carloswilliamson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}