“I just couldn’t let it out,” said a 63-year-old woman, whom I’ll call Trudy. So, for years, the repeated childhood molestation remained hidden. Sometimes shame, guilt, and fear keep secrets—hush hush. Before #MeToo, generations of women often suffered without a voice. They had no platform to talk about what happened to them. After viewing The…
Pamela Alderman with SEE Freedom The Red Jeans Redemption exhibit gives voice to the hidden stories of sexual abuse, rape, and sex trafficking. This community-based work involves multiple layers of participation. First, several individuals donated funds or bought red jeans and left them on my front porch. Next, a couple of sexual abuse therapists agreed…
A collaborative work with Girls Court of Michigan and artist Pamela Alderman Scientists don’t completely understand the internal mechanism that guides monarch butterflies. But every winter, millions of monarchs migrate south to the San Andres Mountains in Mexico. Some butterflies even end up on the same exact trees where their ancestors roosted. After the monarch…
Last fall, Open Hands traveled to Chicago, following trips to San Francisco, Austin, and Washington, D.C., earlier this year. This interactive, traveling art experiment highlights the valuable contribution each person offers to the welfare and healing of our planet. Participants from diverse locations, backgrounds, and ages trace their handprint on a piece of a paper…
Abstract work created by Pine Grove Learning Center students and Artist Pamela Alderman, with the generous contribution of Frames Unlimited. To my surprise, special-education teacher Anne Aurand, my neighbor, left a bag in my mailbox filled with beautiful handprints painted by the profoundly challenged students from Pine Grove Learning Center. While spreading the creative treasures…
What do you do with that loose change leftover from coffee dates? Or the unexpected $10 discovered in your coat pocket? Here’s a challenge: Empower someone else through hands-on art with your small gift of money. At Healing in Arts, our donor-supported work transforms human brokenness into opportunities for growth and wellness through interactive art.”…