Victims of violent crimes have very different ways of healing. Some turn to drugs or alcohol, while some people in Minnesota turn to art. “Some of people participating don’t even consider themselves artists,” said Sue Gens, Executive Director of the Minnesota Arts Board. Friday, April 16 will mark the beginning of the 7th annual Art of Recovery Exhibit.

The exhibit is cosponsored by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. The exhibit runs until June 30th. All 23 artists in the collection are from Minnesota and have been victims of crimes ranging from rape to murder.

“It’s nice to know you are not alone,” says Grant Watkins. Watkins is one of the artists participating in the Art of Recovery exhibit for the first time. He wrote a poem about being violently raped by a man 20 years ago. “It was horrific, it was suffocating, and chocking me and piling all these pillows on top of me and strangling me.”

Watkins says the exhibit is a way for victims of crimes to continue their recovery and to bring awareness to victim’s rights. Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 18–24. “We really want this show to be a way for people that aren’t as far along on their journey to recovery to find some resources and to find some help,” says Gens.

An opening reception will be held 3:30 – 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 16; the reception is open to the public. Regular show hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, April 19 – June 30. The show is also featured in the St. Paul Art Crawl, Fri.-Sun., April 23–25. A reading of literary submissions will be held 1:30–3:30 p.m., Sunday, April 25. The exhibit will be at the Minnesota State Arts Board in Park Square Court in St. Paul.