Take a journey with artist Kim Lajzer this month as she shares her story of sexual abuse to highlight awareness of the issue.
Lajzer, 45, tells her story of sexual abuse at the hands of her father in a conceptual art show that opens with a reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Burke Arts Council, 115 Meeting St.
Raffle tickets at the opening reception will help raise funds for Options of Burke, Lajzer said. Throughout the exhibition's run, visitors can make donations to Options on site.
Intermingled with Lajzer's artwork are pieces from other local artists chronicling their own or loved one's experiences with sexual abuse.
Lajzer said she was 43-years-old when she realized that her father had sexually abused her. Both her mother and father passed away.
The revelation came after a student accidentally touched her inappropriately, Lajzer, who is a teacher at the North Carolina School for the Deaf, said.
Incidents that occurred during her childhood, and led to her adult behaviors, began connecting, Lajzer said.
"It was really scary," Lajzer said of the discovery. "You don't want to think your father would do something like that…Children don't realize it's abuse."
Lajzer's pieces begin at one end of the jailhouse gallery and moves from the feelings she had as a child to darker times and understanding those feelings to forgiveness and ends with hope.
Interactive displays include walking on eggshells and climbing creaky steps. Lajzer said the creaky steps were a warning that her abuser was approaching.
Lajzer said she hopes the exhibit raises awareness about sexual abuse and that it will enable others to identify and provide help to children who are being abused.
"I really hope people can just come and take it in…for them to take in something here and notice kids around them because I wish somebody had noticed (me)," Lajzer said. "What a world of difference that would have made."
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