Organization Description:

The Sunflower Project (TSP) envisions a world where all survivors are deeply supported in reclaiming their voice. By using storytelling, embodied movement, and a wide range of creative outlets, our work encourages emotional processing, fosters healing, and builds community.

TSP uses artmaking to fill the service gaps at the ends of a survivor’s timeline — our focus is in prevention (providing creative educational programming to teenagers) and in embodying and celebrating one’s identity as a survivor once the immediate crisis has subsided, and many mental health services become unavailable.

Description of Need:

Teen on teen relational abuse is extremely hard to track, and sexual, physical, and emotional violence harms young people of all racial, geographic, economic, social backgrounds, as well as all gender identities, expressions, and sexual orientations. Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health reports, “If you think about every 10 teen girls that you know, at least one and possibly more have been raped.” Nearly one in four women is a victim of rape or attempted rape. Tragically, the experience of sexual violence often begins at an early age — over 80% of female victims of rape or attempted rape report a first occurrence before age 25, and nearly half before they turned 18. This is why we believe in focussing our programming on educating and empowering young people. These numbers are staggering, and they do not include those teens who are too scared to report their abuse or ask for help.

Our Approach:

Using artmaking and art sharing as both a preventative educational tool and an outlet for those who have experienced traumatic relationships or sexual encounters is central to the tenants of The Sunflower Project. We believe in the transformative power of art - the way it can dissolve awkwardness or hesitation around a difficult subject and allow the viewer or the maker to jump into difficult topics is key in countering the general squeamishness and immaturity of teenagers. Allowing young people access to creating art at their own pace, design, and desire is a powerful aid in allowing them to explore, express, and understand what they’ve been through and how to begin healing. Sharing one’s art can be a transformative step in a healing journey as it allows a survivor to truly own their story and even begin to celebrate their survivorship, while also serves as peer-to-peer education as other young people witness and understand the art they are seeing.

Additionally, those who have gone through the trauma of becoming a survivor are often left to their own devices once that initial period of crisis and danger has subsided. The work being done in the crisis intervention field is incredibly necessary, but generally expires once a survivor can return to work, or school, or caring for their family without institutional support. But the fight isn’t over then - healing is a lifelong task, and because survivors are eventually left to their own devices, they feel the societal pressure to “move on”. Being a survivor of sexual violence is never something from which we “move on”, but it is something we can learn to be at peace with, or, at times, even celebrate. Our work with survivors through the Body Memory Method is transformational for participants, as it provides much needed tools and space for them to address how their survivorship manifests in their body and their daily lives, and returns to them the power to lovingly connect with their bodies, and their past, in a way that enriches their future.

TSP uses artmaking to fill the service gaps at the ends of a survivor’s timeline — our focus is in prevention (providing creative educational programming to teenagers) and in embodying and celebrating one’s identity as a survivor once the immediate crisis has subsided, and many mental health services become unavailable.

Our Core Values:

Empowerment — Putting the power back where it belongs.

Our stories can be a source of healing when we get to tell them, but when our voice is silenced and our stories are stolen, they can instead become weapons. TSP provides a platform for survivors to share their own stories in ways that they feel are truthful, empowering, and safe.

Transformation — Turning the ugly into something beautiful.

Becoming a survivor often results in feeling a loss of ownership over one’s body, identity, and history. TSP offers an array of art-making tools as a means for survivors to reconnect with their bodies, redefine their circumstances, and retell their stories.

Prevention — Defining the line & fighting misconception.

Most conversations about healthy and abusive relationships amongst teens are riddled with misinformation and misguidance - that is, if the conversation even happens in the first place. TSP uses alternative points of entry (like performances and interactive media) to provoke and promote healthy discussions both at home and at school.

Our Programs:

The Sunflower Project is committed to the essential education, empowerment, and healing that needs to occur in communities of all kinds to ensure a healthier future for all, and fills four gaps in the fight against domestic violence and sexual assault. First, we work directly with teenagers - beginning the conversation when young people are first becoming sexually and romantically inclined. Second, we focus heavily on prevention on both the abused and abusers behalf - teaching young people of ALL genders and sexual orientations about truly healthy relationships and sexual encounters is vital to producing empathetic, kind, and healthy adults. Third, we work with survivors to find embodied practices that foster peace, acceptance, and celebration of their identity as a survivor after they’ve recovered from the primary crisis and trauma of the abuse they underwent. And fourth, we provide artmaking and art sharing as lifelong tools to help people work against the misogynistic and homophobic powers of the world which will confront them their whole lives.

We address these service gaps through our programs:

Body Memory Method: Created by founder Leah Zeiger, the Body Memory Method is a somatic movement practice and survivor-focussed philosophy aimed at giving survivors the tools to embrace and incorporate their experience as a survivor into their daily lives. Designed for survivors who are out of the immediate danger their abuse posed, the Body Memory Method offers survivors tangible tools for the lifelong task of healing.
Demand To Be Heard: A call to action for survivors to create artwork exploring their survivorship, Demand To Be Heard is both an online pop-up art gallery and (new this year) an artist residency, supporting performing artists who are survivors of gender-based violence, interpartner violence, domestic violence and/or sexual assault. A catalyst for self-discovery and personal growth, Demand To Be Heard invites survivors to shatter the barriers of stigma, cultivate empathy, understanding, and support among a wider community. This platform raises awareness about the impact of trauma, challenges societal misconceptions, and fosters a culture of healing and resilience.
Art Jams: Publicly offered spaces for artists of all kinds to come together and improvisationally collaborate, Art Jams provide a unique opportunity for survivors, their friends, and families to share ideas, riff off each other's creativity, and embark on artistic journeys that transcend boundaries. From painters to poets, sculptors to dancers, we celebrate the diverse range of artistic mediums and voices that converge at our Art Jams.
Education: Tailored to each setting and constituency, The Sunflower Project offers educational programs for teenagers, their families, and their communities focussed on defining and encouraging healthy relationships, and providing resources for teenage survivors and abusers. These take the form of film screenings, movement sessions, artmaking workshops and Art Jams, panel discussions, interactive online presentations, blog publications, podcast interviews, and more.

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