Art & Speaking Event - April 28, 2017 Childhood Fractured a Live Narrative part 2 Fracturing of a Child

Writing Excerpt & Event Recap
Derek Hopkins
Event Recap:
We were truly humbled to have another speaking & art event at the Awakening Foundation in Ravenswood. The event was well attended and we are so thankful to all those who showed up to support our cause and to view what we had in store with our initiative. As mentioned previously, writer Derek Hopkins (Co-Founder of Childhood Fractured) is authoring a full length book to document the creative process & stories told by Chicago artist Allen Vandever (Founder of Childhood Fractured).
Derek’s Writing Excerpt following Allen’s Painting: 
“Oh, the things these brown eyes have seen. Yes! They have seen sidewinding murals of life, or, all things beneath the human veneer. And again, we happened upon the familiar. Again, we ventured into the deep-waters of childhood sexual abuse. Allen was in front of the canvas, brave. Cheryl was taking up her cinematic angles. And I was ruminating in a chair. Allen was frantic. It was not difficult to discern from whatever veneer. He was taking heavy breaths behind a heavy mind. A heavy day this would be. He gripped the canvas with a heavy white primer. Anticipation was the blood coursing my veins. I took a choice glance at the audience. And of them I found beautiful shapes, yet, their paralleling countenance was not of beauty. They read of questions without answers. Their eyes were empathetic pools of veneration. Confusion and concern. Doubted by abstraction, or, perhaps, it is my own fear reflected in these English words”

Artist Allen Vandever Tells  His Story Trew words and paint

Childhood Fractured: A Live Narrative part 2 "Fracturing of a Young Boy

The Awakenings Foundation and Childhood Fractured invite you to join us for a collaborative next four events of the six-part live painting series called “Childhood Fractured: A Live Narrative,” that tells the story of childhood sexual abuse from the male perspective the last Friday of the next five . 

The Awakenings Foundation is a Ravenswood art gallery dedicated to making visible the artistic expression of survivors of sexual violence. Childhood Fractured consists of Pilsen based contemporary artist Allen Vandever, writer Derek Hopkins, and filmmaker Cheryl Manaligod, and together they aim to end childhood sexual abuse through art. Awakenings awarded Vandever and Hopkins a grant to produce a special collaborative painting series at the gallery titled “Childhood Fractured: A Live Narrative.”

 “Childhood Fractured: A Live Narrative” First event of its kind hosted at Awakenings, was thrilled to feature and normalize male voices that are so often silenced in the conversation about sexual violence.  He narrated his experience, Hopkins writes and types wile Manaligod films. The event was a huge success peformade to a full house. The written anthology and videos will all be available online following the live painting event. 

The live painting events will take place once a month from March to August. Vandever painted through the trauma of his childhood sexual abuse. A six-painting exhibit will hang at the Awakenings gallery upon completion of the event series in September 2017.