Mount Mary College presents this three-part series on how creativity fuels social change for survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking.

The Stories We Tell, Testimonial Writing Workshop
Coming to campus - October 27-28, 2012

"These stories are so powerful, and the hunger these women have to share them is so profound, and the potential implications are so great."

--Anne Ream, Chicago Tribune, December 4, 2011.

Fifteen pre‐selected survivors of sexual or domestic violence or human trafficking will develop a creative piece in this intensive testimonial writing workshop, taught by R. Clifton Spargo (center-right), an award‐winning writer and Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and co-facilitated by Anne Ream (center-left) and . Participants will showcase their work through a format provided by The Voices and Faces Project™ and Mount Mary College in order to impact the community through individual testimony.

"Because silence is the enemy of change."

--The Voices and Faces Project™

 

 

 

Creativity for Social Change: A Forum
Coming to campus - Spring 2013

This event includes a dinner, a keynote speaker and breakout sessions presented by representatives from Mount Mary College.

"…The only way we can challenge and change the way the world responds to sexual violence is to bring these stories to the attention of the public."

--Anne Ream, Chicago Tribune, December 4, 2011.

Program features:

Keynote: Anne Ream
Ann Ream (shown at right) is a Chicago-based writer and the founder of The Voices and Faces Project™. She is nationally known for her innovative efforts to improve the lives of women and girls and her passion for changing the status quo through a series of creative, media driven initiatives.

Breakout sessions: (Participants choose which session to attend.)

• Dancing with Tears and Rage: The Role of Art Making in Survival
  Art Therapy Department
  
• Writing as Healing
  Specific activities in memoir and journal writing can help writers move from victim to survivor. (Based on Louise De Salvo's "Writing as a Way of Healing")
  English Department
  
• The Journey to Wellness: Using Mindfulness based Strategies to Promote Personal Healing
  Counseling Department
  
• Milwaukee Responds: Together
  A discussion of ground breaking partnerships, including the Sexual Violence Victim Advocacy Project.
  Justice Department

Scheherazade Tillet, A Long Walk Home™

Sexual Assault in the 21st Century: The Digital and Media Arts Discussion
March 2012 -- The Internet has increasingly become the hunting ground for sexual predators. Using new methods in art therapy and the digital arts – including photography, projection, video, Twitter, Facebook, and live feed – a discussion on how state‐of‐the‐art technology can empower communities and individuals to prevent and heal from sexual violence took place in March at Mount Mary College.

Presented by A Long Walk Home™, a nonprofit organization focused on sharing testimonies, poetry, music, dance, photography and video by survivors of sexual abuse and their allies in order to provide safe and entertaining forums through which the public can learn about healing from, and preventing, sexual violence.