The First 20 years
Arte Sana (art heals) is a national 501(c)(3) Latina-led nonprofit based in Texas and originally founded in 2001 to help bridge the gaps in victim assistance for Spanish speaking survivors of sexual violence. It launched its bilingual website in collaboration with women’s rights groups in Latina America in 2001, and offered its first event on March 8, 2001 - International Women’s Day.
Arte Sana and its leadership have received state and national recognition from the the United States Mexico Border Health Commission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOJ Office of Justice Programs, the United States Mexico Border Health Commission, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, for its groundbreaking bilingual training events, and the use of art and music to eliminate language barriers and enhance victim assistance for marginalized survivors of sexual violence.
The Corazón Lastimado: Healing the Wounded Heart survivor art exhibit was showcased during this first event held in Austin, Texas. It was also the first national bilingual sexual assault survivor exhibit of its kind to include artwork messages from survivors of sexual violence, in both English and Spanish.
The Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence is among the many entities that have adopted the Corazón Lastimado: Healing the Wounded Heart survivor art project. Over one-hundred hearts have been created in the Connecticut chapter alone since it was initiated in 2014.
Among Arte Sana's key accomplishments during its first five years of existence was the creation in 2004 of a national online collaboration space for the Alianza Latina en contra la Agresión Sexual or
ALAS - the national network of Latina/Latine victim advocates.
Advocacy Sin Fronteras
“Esta ciudad es conocida mundialmente por los crímenes de mujeres, pero existe esa otra violencia que destruye la vida de quienes sufren incesto, violación, o violencia doméstica… el que Arte Sana imparta capacitación en español, nos ha enseñado muchísimo y hemos podido apoyar a las víctimas con profesionalismo y profundo conocimiento en la problemática de la violencia.”
Esther Chávez Cano, Directora, Casa Amiga, Juárez, México (2003)
Translation: “This city is known worldwide for crimes against women, but there is that other violence that destroys the lives of those who suffer incest, rape, or domestic violence… the one that Arte Sana provides training about in Spanish, it has taught us a lot and we have been able to support the victims with professionalism and deep knowledge of the problem of violence.”
Presentiers Lucy C. Felix & Dinorah Martinez, National Latina Institute
for Reproductive Health - Nuestras Voces conference in 2016.
From March 2001 – December 2003 Arte Sana offered training and presentations to over 2844 persons. 1549 (54%) were residents from along the Texas-Mexico border. 984 (35%) received the information in Spanish.
The Capacitadoras en Acción (trainers in action) project was the first statewide bilingual sexual assault training project funded in Texas in 2002.
The Existe Ayuda Toolkit national collaboration was funded by a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, and tools created through the project were shared nationally in 2009.
The Nuestras Voces (our voices) National Bilingual Sexual Assault Conferences were among the first to include complete Spanish language workshop tracks presented directly in Spanish by bilingual presenters.
Arte Sana's Yo Soy SAAM Spanish language webinar series offered during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, gave visibility to, and empowered bilingual victim advocates and promoted bilingual professional development to enhance victim assistance for marginalized communities.
