Freely in Hope equips survivors of sexual violence through education, leadership, and storytelling skills that heal communities in Kenya, Zambia, and South Africa. Survivors posed for and hand-painted self-portraits to reflect who they are—creating images that share their stories, their hopes, and their visions for themselves as survivors who overcome. This project was inspired by Kehinde Wiley, a Nigerian-American artist known for his highly naturalistic paintings of people with brown and black skin in heroic poses. In a similar way, Freely in Hope survivors chose to pose in a way that represents who they are—strong, beautiful and confident. Their paintings tell stories of their past, their journey forward, and their dreams of healing for themselves and for our world.
