How we got started

In the Fall of 2007, Vickie and Tim Florschuetz brainstormed a grassroots plan to use portrait art as a way of helping and educating people. With this community service project in mind, Vickie set out to work with domestic abuse survivors to produce thier portraits and written stories of overcoming hardship. The work would then be exhibited during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The more she listened and researched, the more Vickie learned about the prominent stereotypes, the enormous ignorance surrounding the issues, and the vast numbers of individuals who have admitted to being abused. With this realization, Vickie took a desire and turned it into a mission of using the arts to promote education, motivation, community, and hope through stories of survival.

Our vision is to build a social movement by encouraging as many survivors to come forward as possible through our art program, host as many exhibits as we can to create social change, and collaborate with other quality nonprofits to do our part in erradicating domestic violence and abuse via awareness and action.

What we do

Our art program has two main parts:

• Therapeutic Portrait Process

  Survivors volunteer to participate in the creativity of developing their own portrait and narrative. Our three-step process includes a portrait sitting or what we affectionately call, the DaVinci Experience, and can be customized to the individual. No matter how long in recovery, our therapeutic portrait process has been shown to be fun, beautiful, and healing for those who want to come forward publically. We do not descriminate between gender, race, age, or history and keep information confidential. Survivors are represented as victors, not victims.





• Art Exhibitions

  Many organizations work hard to provide victim services and public education. Bravery Project art exhibits are an alternative way to help. The artwork is meant to be shared and has been met with many rave reviews. There are several ways we can help an organization raise awareness from hosting mini artshows, speaking presentations, to full blown partnership fundraiser events. No matter how Bravery Project artwork is used, there is always a need for public understanding about the issues of domestic abuse and most importantly, what can be done for change.