Safety First - Exhibit Postponed

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As you know, the current global health crisis has caused many of us to change our plans, and the gallery and I have decided to postpone the opening of my exhibit until further notice. Although it is not the ideal situation, I know this is a blessing in disguise, and will allow me to make this exhibit even more complete and full than the original plan. I look toward to celebrating with you when the time is right for us to gather again safely! I will be sure to keep you updated on this new date.

October Domestic Violence Awareness month, which is the reason I had originally planned for the opening for the first weekend in October. My goal with this exhibit is to raise awareness and inspire people to make decisions to free themselves of a bad situation they may find themselves in. In this particular expression I am exploring escaping domestic abuse/violence/toxicity, and the promise of thriving on the other side.

I created this piece recently while feeling the duality of the healing process. It's been three years since I escaped. The word 'escape' sounds dramatic, but it is what happened.

It took a few years to get to the point—I was doing laundry in the basement of my apartment complex with 8 minutes left on the dryer cycle. I knew I had to make the decision by the time the clothes were dry. I took my bag of clean laundry and took an uber away. That was step one. 

Three years later the echoes of what I went through still linger, but I see it as one of the biggest miracles of my life. 

Processing the feelings of love, hope, anger, sadness, closure, and empathy is still a soup that is impossible to fully dismantle. If I can help even one person through telling my story then I feel that perhaps it wasn't a singular tragedy but part of the tapestry of my life and calling to help others. 

Creating the work for this exhibit has been an immense part of my own healing process, and I am still creating and exploring. I can't wait to share it with you.  

Survival Tidbit:

If you know someone who may be in a bad situation, keep showing up for them. Let them know you love them and you have their back. You can't force someone to leave but you can show them that people love them and they aren't isolated.
Keep showing up.

8 Minutes to Freedom is an art exhibit and film exploring the survival from domestic abuse. As a survivor of an abusive relationship, I’ve come out the other side strong, but only by going through a long journey of healing. The whole way through, I have had support from friends, family, and doctors, as well as people I have met along the way. 

The title of this exhibit has deep meaning, as it represents the final and physical removal of myself from the situation I was in. I made that decision while I was doing laundry in my apartment building basement. With 8 minutes left on the dryer cycle, I thought to myself, “I have 8 minutes to make this decision.” It was the hardest 8 minutes of my life, but I decided to leave at that moment.

I want to highlight the positive journey that lay after the struggle, and not focus so much on the abuse, but the healing process, ability to triumph, and finding inner strength and gratitude for the people who supported me on such a journey. My goal is to inspire and inform the public about the topic of surviving abuse, and my aim is to give a sense of hope, empowerment, and a triumphant positive outlook on life. I want to inspire self-love and gratitude, as well as the metamorphosis of the healing journey. I would like people to walk away with awareness, but to also know that there is potential of life to change for the better in any situation. I want them to see the responsibility we have to ourselves in making tough decisions that ultimately can save our lives.