Arte Sana

By providing services to improve the quality of life of survivors of gender violence and racism, Arte Sana strives to prevent violence in our communities. Arte Sana believes in the intrinsic healing power of art and culture and that violence risk reduction programs and services must be culturally competent and linguistically appropriate.

In February 2001, a small group of concerned artists and victim rights advocates based in Austin, TX, met to reflect on existing racial and ethnic disparities within the victim service field, and the historical predominance of art as a vehicle for expression, education, and healing. After several deliberations, an organization was formed under the name Arte Sana (art heals) and the preliminary steps towards developing a nonprofit were set into motion.

Under the leadership of the organization's co-founders, Laura Zárate and Oralia Díaz , the group began to proactively promote the link between art and healing with the intent of focusing on predominately underserved populations. By providing services to improve the quality of life of survivors of gender and racial-based violence, Arte Sana hoped to not only heal current wounds, but prevent new ones as well. By year's end, more than 6,000 visitors had visited the group's website and numerous trainings around the United States and México had taken place. In 2002 Arte Sana's collaborations and outreach increased significantly via the award of grant funding and the first art exhibit for sexual abuse survivors went international.

Furthermore, Arte Sana’s internationally recognized website serves as an Internet resource-sharing platform for Spanish-speaking communities and offers a growing collection of bilingual information on sexual assault and intimate partner violence issues as well as activist survivor art.  
Arte Sana currently promotes healing and empowerment through the arts, professional training, and community education.