UMass students and educators used art as therapy to show the world that they are not victims, but survivors.

On Thursday, April 21, UMass' Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality put on the Sexual Violence Survivor Art Show at the UMass Dartmouth.

Throughout April, known as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Center provided several art therapy programs for survivors of sexual assault.

Kendra Tomase, a victim advocate and educator for the Center, kicked off the night, giving insight into the inspiration behind the exhibit before introducing junior Mariah Tarentino, who was the driving force behind the show.

Tarentino, an art history major, said she wanted to give survivors a chance to talk about their stories through art. She wanted to be sure that there were "no limits" on what artists could depict in their pieces or how they could present their stories.

In March of 2015, Tarentino was sexually assaulted on campus. Frustrated by the reporting process which, she said, she felt took away her voice, Tarentino turned to art as an outlet to heal. She quickly realized there were others who had experienced the same thing and decided she could create a platform for other survivors to tell their stories.

For many, art became a “new kind of healing experience" that strayed outside the borders of therapy or talking to friends, Tarentino said. “It was a different kind of outlet.”

The artists were "excited about [having a] platform to talk about stories," Tarentino said. It proved to be a supportive, exciting and healing experience, she added.

Works of various mediums by six artists hung on the walls of the Frederick Douglass Unity House, including paintings, collages, and poetry. Many of the works were overlapped by phrases said by their abusers and "victim-blamers" that resonate with the survivors.

Though much of the art was poignant and desolate, the room was filled with people looking to lend their support.

One such student was senior English major Ashley Wojtunik. Wojtunik's close friend was sexually assaulted, and she attended the event to educate herself so she could lend her friend more support, she said.

Wojtunik said she was moved and "overwhelmed" by the art. She felt that, despite the many stories being told by many people, she could see many threads connecting each piece of art to the next.

Tarentino said she hopes to be able to hold another show of this nature in the future. Though she initially put on the show for her own sake, she said she was touched by the "overwhelming" and positive response from attendees.