Our Mission
Pictured: Judith Dawn Hickey
Awakenings founder Jean Cozier and her beloved cousin, Judith Dawn, found the importance of healing through art later in life. Before Judith passed away in 1998, her final wish to Jean was to help other survivors heal through art like they had. After years of granting money directly to survivors to fund art projects and gathering an impressive collection of survivor art, Jean opened Awakenings in 2010. Her collection, which includes many of Judith’s paintings, hangs in our gallery today. The artwork not only acts as a powerful educational tool for those interested in learning more about the emotional impact of sexual violence, but, more importantly, acts as inspiration for new survivors who come to our space to heal through art themselves.