TRIUMPH OVER TRAUMA
EST. 2015
Promoting Communication
About Rape, Child Abuse, And Domestic Partner Violence
These are issues that means a lot to me, and I am, personally, asking you all to get involved.
The event series is called ‘Triumph Over Trauma’. It is a mixed discipline art salon that centers around the topics of Sexual Assault, Domestic Partner Violence, and Child Abuse.
Over the past few years I have been meeting with various individuals, from a variety of arts & healing backgrounds, and although no one can ever be ready or prepared for such an endeavor, we hope to take the “closed door discussion of trauma” into a public arts forum. The performance series ‘Triumph Over Trauma’ is our first public step forward, in what we hope will turn into… a long lasting discussion on how to minimize the prevalence of these atrocities in our community.
Some of the Bay Area’s most esteemed Poets & Storytellers have come out to share work, which relate to the these particular themes. However, due to the sensitivity of these topics, we are informing all those in advance… that the focus of this event is to shed light & perspective on tragedy, with attempt to find healing over time. In no ways are we expecting to heal the world, or find solution, in a single evening. This is a small beginning. A very rough & difficult leap, for all those involved. That being said… the work expressed may be emotionally taxing. Both for the audience, and the Performer, as well. We ask that the attendees walk in with full knowledge of what we are setting the stage for, and to please respect the eveningAS A PROCESS, and not some refined production.
The prevalence of rape in our global society is statistically grotesque & gut-wrenching, and to sit by and watch these statistics escalate, without lifting a finger or a voice… is unconscionable.
‘Triumph Over Trauma’ is us, as an Arts Community, lifting our voice above the pain, so that others can regain belief, that someone is listening… that someone cares.
We hope, through these continued meetings & stories, to, one day, direct better attention towards the underlying causes, and maligned cultural support systems, that allow for these kind of behaviors to exist.
We are welcoming anyone who wishes to engage in a larger discussion on prevention & healing, to contact us, so that we can plan other gatherings of a more open & participatory nature. And if you are already involved in similar action groups of this kind, or just wish to get more involved, please send us your information so that you can be reached, in regards to future collaboration.
"So many women in my life. So many people I love, have been hurt. The people I love most of all in this world have gone through the most unimaginable pain. Horrifically, changed by molestation and rape. Some from an individual instance, but others, too many, from repeated violations, spanning years. And some, so young to even fathom the level of their perpetrator's sickened desire.
And the lasting effects plague so many people down the line. Family, and loved ones, for years to come, suffer in ways unlike the victim... but we do feel that weight when they stare-off out a window, or suddenly fall silent in a room of laughter, or reject a tender embrace, cause the mere touch and warmth of another's body, reminds them of something unpure and filled with internal conflict.
The individual victim, of course... their life is altered, sometimes with the inability to find any station or peace, and we sadly lose them, by their own hand. Some... move on, in their own way, and remarkably redirect focus, using their stories to create Awareness and, (we pray) hopefully, Prevention. While others quietly shrink, unable to explain, exactly, why they run, at the first site of love, or another's attraction to them. Believing isolation as their only choice. Or engaging upon affairs that mimic their tragedy, in attempt to somehow, relive and redesign the outcome.
Throughout my life, I've been told I fall in love with the broken ones, the clipped birds, a savior complex, a naive healer set on the path of his own demise.... but when I truly looked at it... at the people I've had incredible fortune of loving in my life, who have gone through this lifelong torment, my attraction had absolutely nothing to do with weakness! In direct opposite, I was attracted to their strength!!! How they were able to view another day with hope. How despite such far reaching effects these experiences have caused, they manage to fight for what's left of their life, and continue.
As I think about it further... I've only ever been attracted to strong women. People who have insight and perspective and appreciation, people who refuse to give up, who realize there is work to be done before we can rest… that our lives amount to very little unless we routinely give back....
Not that these attributes are only derived from painful events, and circumstances. Cause as I view it on an even grander scale.... just being a woman in our society is a struggle worth admiration. A display of immense strength in its own right.
Lastly, the ratio of who has been abused and transformed, at the hand of another is horrendous. Women and Men alike, treated in the most unwholesome of ways. Fracturing not just one life, but many. And my one wish, is that the more we all discuss these things, openly, and without fear together, the more this ratio will decrease, and prayerfully find end."
Founded
2015
Location
San Francisco, CA
Projects
Triumph Over Trauma SF
Triumph Over Trauma Bay Area
Triumph Over Trauma US
Triumph Over Trauma Global
We cannot afford more pain in our communities
If we all open up about these topics, and don't allow them to stay hidden, then hopefully we can reduce their occurrence.