Our VOICE presents the 14th Annual Heart Works, Survivors Arts Show, Thursday, November 12, 2015 at the YMI Cultural Center.

The annual arts show is a unique community event that features visual and performance art created by survivors of sexual assault.

“Art is a powerful vehicle for healing,” explains Angelica Wind, Our VOICE executive director. “Heart Works offers an opportunity for those impacted by sexual assault and abuse to share their story, which can be an important step in the healing process.

“The arts show also serves as vehicle to raising awareness and starting conversations regarding the impact of sexual assault. More than anything, it serves as a testament of the strength and resiliency that survivors have and that healing is possible.”

One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime according to the National Institute of Justice and Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Males are the least likely to report sexual assault, though they make up about 10% of all victims.

Wind says, “The trauma of sexual assault lingers long after the actual event or events. Victims of sexual assault are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression and 26 times more likely to abuse drugs. As a community we need to know how to support victims and take action to stop sexual assault and abuse in the first place.”

The first Survivor’s Arts show was in 2000, and has grown each year. This year the 14th Annual Survivors Arts Show will include works of art from Jean Wall Penland, a local painter and etcher whose work has been exhibited in over 20 solo shows throughout North Carolina and England over 35 years.

Penland was the art director for “The Arts Journal” in Asheville from 1978-1989 and her work is found in several permanent collections including the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the Biltmore Estate, Carolina Power and Light, Duke University, and Rock well International.

If You Go: The 2015 Survivor’s Arts Show will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at the YMI Cultural Center (39 S. Market St, Asheville) with public viewing beginning at 5:30 p.m. and performance art starting at 7 p.m. More details can be found at ourvoice.nc.org.