UArts Alum Brittanie Richardson Tackles Sexual Violence in Kenya

December 10, 2019

We spoke with Brittanie Richardson BFA ’09 (Acting) about her non-profit Art and Abolition, an organization that “exists to heal, empower and protect” girls in Kenya who have been victims of sexual violence. Richardson dreams of a “rape-free world” and believes that the arts can be a part of the solution. As a survivor of childhood sexual violence herself, Richardson used art to work through her trauma, saying “art healed me.” 

Although Richardson went to UArts for acting, she found herself wanting to right injustices in the world and was drawn to humanitarian work. She attended a spiritual training school in Mozambique, and it was there that Richardson had what she described as a spiritual vision of girls suffering, although she did not know what it meant at the time. While in Mozambique, she met a woman who told Richardson about the issue of child sex trafficking in Kenya and her idea to create a home there for victims of sexual violence. Richardson eventually took a chance and used her last few hundred dollars to fly to Kenya. 

Richardson working
Brittanie Richardson BFA '09 (Acting)

“This is my life,” she recalled when meeting the girls for the first time. “As a woman, as a queer person, as black person, as a human, anyone can relate to this. I can either be human or I can run away from this. I can turn off my humanity and turn away from this. There’s no in-between. I can give my life to this. I don’t even remember no being an option.” 

Instead of running away, Richardson chose to give her life to Art and Abolition, truly believing that art has the power to heal. There, she could use the skills she learned through her arts education to provide the girls with opportunities to work through their trauma creatively. Through art therapy, Richardson says that “[the girls] come alive.” Art therapy allows them to heal in a way that Richardson herself was able to see herself heal. 

Art and Abolition works toward this goal in four ways. First, the organization focuses on providing a safe living environment for the girls through foster care. There, the girls receive art and trauma therapy. Although most of the girls are able to return to their families after their homes are deemed safe, Richardson also fosters several of the girls.  Because schooling is an important factor in keeping girls out of poverty, financial sponsorship through Art and Abolition’s website helps to support their tuition and supplies. Art and Abolition also promotes economic empowerment through the sale of bracelets made by sexual violence survivors in Kenya so that these women can support their families. 

Richardson and two girls from Art and Abolition
Richardson with two girls in Art and Abolition

Right now, Richardson said that the greatest challenge facing Art and Abolition is funding. They rely on financial sponsorship through their website to pay for the girls’ living and education expenses. Richardson explained that the organization is moving toward a fundraising approach and away from recruiting volunteers, as they have a steady group of dedicated individuals working at Art and Abolition. 

Richardson also spoke candidly about how her past has impacted her work. As a young girl, she was the victim of sexual violence but kept her feelings inside for years. Richardson said that she “never thought as a kid I would start this organization.” She said that a younger Richardson would have “turned around and run the opposite way” from the advocacy that Brittanie has done now. 

The arts were what changed Richardson’s mindset. As a teenager, she was a part of the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta (YEA), an African-American youth theater company founded by Freddie Hendricks, renowned trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator. There, she said “All of us who felt like the outcasts of society…[Hendrix] got us in a room together and told us we were amazing. He would tell us multiple times a day ‘You are great.’” YEA staged performances on various social issues such as teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and the uprisings in 1976 in South Africa. It was there that Richardson learned art could be used to make sense of real-world problems. Richardson performed an autobiographical solo show in the Hollywood Film Festival in 2017 and continues to create art daily for herself and with the girls of Art and Abolition. She is currently working on a book. 

Richardson stressed the importance of truth-telling in all aspects of life to facilitate healing. She is open about her life as a queer woman and encourages her daughters to be whoever they want to be and love whoever they want to love. Richardson pointed out that there is a misconception that queerness is Western, noting that “queerness exists across the world,” and the pushback against this has been from organizations in the United States. Richardson wants her girls to have a “freedom in their own bodies” and that includes not hiding their identities. 

Richardson also spoke about the importance of creating artwork that is not shared with an audience. “The first thing I do every morning is create...it’s an intimate but safe relationship,” and that she “only shares what she’s already healed...There are certain points in our journey where we feel more safe to share.”

She suggested that students start by creating just one thing a day, just for themselves. As an artist, there is pressure to fit into the idea of success and fame that society dictates. Richardson offers an alternative—creating art for art’s sake. She hopes that students practice honesty in their art. “Don’t edit yourself, listen to that inner roar. Art is a safe place. We can be as raw and as open as we want to.”