ABOUT US
A Word From Our Founder
Thank you so much for visiting our website. Awaken Arts is my one true passion. As an artist I genuinely believe in the healing power of the arts.
Awaken Arts creates a safe space where people can use various art forms as a mode for healing. We create a supportive environment for all of the Mentees and the Mentors, so they can share their stories without fear.
The majority of people that participate in our program have gone through hardships, but as artists we know the cathartic power of creating; we step back and let them process their own story in another form.
It is amazing to see it in action, and as a foundation we are glad to provide this program to people in need. Our hope is that we can grow our foundation to reach more people in the Los Angeles area, the Nation and someday, on a global scale.
Thank you for all of your love and support!
Why did I start Awaken Arts?
At UCSB I took a class with Professor Kip Fulbeck, who created a space where we could create art without limits. In a group of people that used photography and spoken word to help express themselves, I decided to make a film about my story. It was the first time I had shared about being a rape survivor with a large group of people. It was a narrative about an artist who told her story through the pieces she created.
It was me, but not me. I needed something abstract to help me tell the truth about what happened to me. After each showing women would come up to me and tell me that they felt empowered by me sharing my story, and they finally felt that they could tell their's, sometimes for the very first time. I thought to myself, if people felt empowered by just seeing my film, how much more empowered would they feel if they got to process their own story. This ideal gave birth to the first program of Awaken Arts.
To date we have done 10 programs with Sunburst Youth Academy helping over 2000 at-risk youth, 3 programs with combat veterans with PTSD at the Long Beach VA, and a disaster relief trip to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan that helped over 400 mother's and young children processing the aftermath of the typhoon. We were also able to help almost 4,500 people with the building projects, and translation services we were able to provide when over seas.