NEPA Scene Podcast Ep. 20 - 'Break the Silence' on sexual violence and domestic abuse through art

NEPA Scene

In Episode 20, we have a very important and emotional conversation with the creators of Break the Silence: Sexual Violence Awareness Art Exhibit - campaign coordinator Stephanie Santore and photographer Ashley Matthews of Simply Lush Portrait Boutique. Before and during the interview, we drink some crowlers provided by our sponsor, Beer Boys in Wilkes-Barre, of three varieties of Single Origin Coffee Brown Ales by Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Georgia made with coffee from Ecuador, Indonesia, and Kenya. Everyone agrees that, whether you love coffee or just beer brewed with it, these are worth drinking. Then we talk about this powerful exhibit before it debuts at The Leonard Theater during First Friday Scranton on Aug. 4, what motivated them to start this project and how their respective professions helped in its creation, the difficulty in discussing the issues of sexual violence and domestic abuse, photographing the brave volunteers who have endured this trauma and shared their stories, how this project affected them, why Stephanie felt it was time to share her own personal story, empowering women through photography, what the Women's Resource Center does for local women and families, statistics from and raising money for the center, sexism and focusing on the issue at hand by not getting bogged down by “whataboutism” and other tactics, the healing process, the future of Break the Silence after Friday night and the possibility of future projects, and more. The NEPA Scene Podcast covers arts, entertainment, and the issues that matter to Northeastern Pennsylvania. It airs as a live video stream every Wednesday at 7 p.m. on NEPA Scene’s Facebook page and is available afterward on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, YouTube, and nepascene.com. This episode and all previous episodes are available now on NEPA Scene, the award-winning independent arts and entertainment website that combines the accuracy and professionalism of a print magazine with the immediacy and convenience of a blog, offering a wide variety of content to readers in NEPA, Philadelphia, New York, and beyond. The show is made possible by local sponsors Beer Boys, The Keys, and the F.M. Kirby Center, Coal Creative, and viewers who tune in every week.