As the homicide rate in Philadelphia continues to rise, an ever-growing number of people are experiencing trauma that can devastate families and ripple through future generations if left untreated.
Art Heals is a free program that pairs trauma-informed art therapy facilitators with the family members of gun violence victims to help them process their emotions, build resiliency, and prevent the cycle of violence from continuing.
Who can sign up for Art Heals?
Art Heals will serve people living in Philadelphia and surrounding areas who have been affected by gun violence. It will have two tracts: One for ages of 16 to 22, which would be suitable for siblings or other youth in the victim’s life. The other is aimed at parents, grandparents, spouses or adult children of victims.
Each participant will choose one of four distinct paths: photography, radio, spoken word and painting. Participants will meet for 2-3 hours per week for eight weeks.
What will participants be doing?
All four paths will center around processing trauma through the arts.
Photography: Participants will create a photography project focused on their loss.
Radio: Participants will conduct journalistic-style interviews with others who have lost a loved one to gun violence.
Spoken word: Participants will write and perform spoken word poetry reflecting on their grief.
Painting: Participants will create a painting project centered around their loss.
Who will be facilitating Art Heals?
James Lowrie is a professional photographer and journalist whose work has appeared on Fox29, the Philadelphia Inquirer and MK Magazine.
Tamara Russell, a.k.a. P.O.C. (Point of Consciousness) is the founder and host of Revive Radio, an online broadcasting platform.
Zarinah Lomax is the host of the Zarinah Lomax Show, a talk show featuring interviews with loved ones of gun violence victims.
Sergine Citerme is a spoken word artist who has been writing and performing for more than nine years. She believes in using the arts to inspire, advocate and give hope.
Sharia Wallace, artistically known as S.Alyse, is a self-taught artist specializing in mixed media using spray paint and acrylics on canvas.
Power of Paint is Art Academy uses art as a vehicle to educate, empower, connect, unite and heal.
Yolanda Booker is a counselor and life coach who specializes in helping people through trauma and grief.
When will Art Heals start and how often to sessions meet?
The program runs from Aug. 29 to Oct. 24, 2022.
Photography: Fridays from 4-6 p.m.
Radio: Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Spoken word: Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Painting: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Grief support: Mondays at 7 p.m. on Zoom and once per month in person
Why is Art Heals necessary?
Violence can leave a legacy of trauma that creates continued patterns of violence if no interventions take place. Art Heals goes beyond the practice of simply processing emotions through creative expression. This project seeks to prevent further violence by taking a trauma-informed approach that addresses the psychological effects of violence in families and communities.
By encouraging family members of gun violence victims to address what happened to them in a healthy, positive way, they are empowering themselves and helping to break the cycle of trauma that leads to more violence.
What is the origin of Art Heals?
Art Heals is an extension of the work that Zarinah Lomax and Jennifer Lawson have been doing in the community for years.
Through her project, The Apologues, Zarinah Lomax shares the stories of homicide victims and survivors using fashion, music and art. For the past six years, she has also hosted families of victims on her talk show, the Zarinah Lomax Show. Zarinah was drawn to storytelling to heal from her own trauma of surviving rape and losing her father to the prison system when she was 17. In 2018, Zarinah lost a family member, Dominique Oglesby, to gun violence. As a result, Zarinah became active in the anti gun violence community, where she met Jennifer Lawson.
A journalist for more than 15 years, Jennifer leads the Philadelphia Obituary Project, a nonprofit that has been telling the stories of Philly’s homicide victims online at phillyobitproject.com since 2016. To date, more than 300 stories of victims are live on the site. Last year, she began publishing a monthly column written by the mother of a gun violence victim and became flooded with requests from other mothers who were eager to share their stories in their own words.
In response to that demand, in 2021 Jennifer created Writing Heals, an 8-week, grant-funded therapeutic writing program for people affected by gun violence. More than 60 survivors completed Writing Heals, which followed the framework of Storiez Trauma Narratives, created by Meghan Corrado, Ph.D. Art Heals is an expansion of that program.
How do I sign up for Art Heals?
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