OHIO WESLEYAN HOSTS ANTI-HUMAN-TRAFFICKING ART EXHIBIT ‘B.R.A.V.E’ Display to Include Free Artist Reception Feb. 25

Ohio Wesleyan is hosting the traveling B.R.A.V.E. exhibit through Feb. 25. It includes Sabine Lampe's 'Madama Bitterfly.' (Image courtesy of the Hope and Liberation Coalition)

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University’s Beeghly Library is showcasing the traveling show “B.R.A.V.E. – Being Radically Authentic and Vocally Expressive,” an anti-human-trafficking-themed art exhibit now through Feb. 25.

The exhibit is on display inside the library’s Gallery 2001, 43 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Hours vary daily and are available online at http://library.owu.edu. The university also will host a free reception with a group of B.R.A.V.E. artists from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 25, the closing date of the show.

The exhibit was created by The Hope and Liberation Coalition (HLC), a group that seeks to promote awareness and prevention of human trafficking through the arts and has travelled to several venues throughout Central Ohio since its creation in the spring of 2015.

According to HLC: “Tragically, labor and sex trafficking exist throughout the world, and Central Ohio is not immune. This exhibit is timely, since more cases of human trafficking occur in Central Ohio in the spring and early summer than anywhere else in the country.”

The B.R.A.V.E. exhibit seeks to display the many faces of human trafficking, provide a forum for community education and discussion, and demonstrate support for human trafficking victims in Central Ohio and across the world.

Tammy Perakis Wallace, assistant director of OWU’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, coordinated the Gallery 2001 showing of B.R.A.V.E. Wallace, a 2002 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, said the exhibit includes photography, paintings, prints, mixed media, and textile pieces from 13 artists.

“The variety of artwork allows viewers to find at least one piece they can connect with and respond to, and makes the reality of human trafficking more immediate and personal,” Wallace said. “By bringing the show to campus, our community will be more aware of the problem. It is so easy to miss the signs, but we have victims right here in the heartland.”

The HLC, supported by the nonprofit organization, Power to Impact Global Foundation (P2i), includes The Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington (The MAC), The King Arts Complex, and The City of Columbus Cultural Arts Center (CAC). Learn more about the HLC and its anti-human trafficking efforts at http://hopeandliberationcoalition.com. Learn more about art exhibits on the Ohio Wesleyan campus at http://owu.edu/ross.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 87 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,675 students represent 43 U.S. states and territories and 33 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.