Red Jeans Redemption Curating the strength of survivors and displaying hope The Red Jeans Redemption project gives voice to the hidden stories of sexual abuse, rape, and sex trafficking. The work is comprised of the stories from courageous survivors who volunteered to write their sacred stories on the red jeans. Leslie King, survivor and founder…
While preparing for ArtPrize 2020, Pamela will lead art workshops with Kent County Veterans Services. These workshops will be sponsored by various West Michigan veteran organizations listed below. At the workshops, veterans and their families will sponge-paint special metallic paper, which the artist will use to fashion the ArtPrize work. A special collection of eight…
Artist Pamela Alderman BROKEN: After exhibit visitors shared their experiences, I finally realized the progression between sexting, sexual assaults, and suicidal tendencies. Like one individual said, “Eventually, one thing leads to the next.” SEXTING: “My boyfriend pressured me into texting a nude picture of myself. I tapped ‘send’—he uploaded my images to the internet.” –…
“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…