Elizabeth Tobias will amplify her fusion of social practice, performance and sound to debut Survivor! Share your 98 Second Story at 2019 The Los Angeles Art Show. This immersive project addresses the sexual assault epidemic, one of the most pervasive, yet most underreported crimes. Survivor! addresses the staggering statistic that every 98 seconds, there is a sexual assault in America.

Weaving together spoken word and improvised sound, Elizabeth Tobias will perform with an ensemble of artist survivors to collectively promote needed awareness and advocacy for sexual assault survivors in the art community and throughout the public sphere.

Those victimized by violence often lack the support and resources needed to come forward. For artists who have been impacted by the trauma of sexualized assault, rarely, if ever, are there adequate opportunities to create work that addresses their stories within and beyond the larger art community.

Dr Jennifer Freyd, expert in the field of interpersonal violence has identified that the act of speaking out has a measureable impact on decreasing violence*. Consequently, the performance has the potential to directly reduce the statistics. Survivor! Share Your 98 Second Story is a ground breaking new performance that addresses trauma, courage and continuance.



About the Artist:
Elizabeth Tobias, MA, is an Expressive Arts Therapist, Interdisciplinary Artist, Feminist, Educator and Community Organizer. As an Expressive Arts Therapist, she works in private practice and in clinical settings. As an artist and community organizer, Elizabeth creates immersive works of art and public events that address timely social issues such as interpersonal violence, trauma, discrimination, food scarcity and climate change. Her multi-media projects leverage art to engage the community in cultural, economic and social advancement. In 2014, she was awarded a Learning Innovation Fellowship from The National Science Foundation. She previously earned a Durfee ARC Grant for The Cupcake Project, a 3 year traveling exhibit about the hunger epidemic in America, which was featured at The Carpenter Center for Visual Arts at Harvard University. She also conceptualized SEE THRU, an experimental collaboration with Caltech Neuroscience Professor, Shinsuke Shimojo. She has worked with organizations including Vista Hill Parent Care, The San Diego Unified School District Department of Student Advocacy, La Jolla Elementary School, La Jolla High School, The LA Gay and Lesbian Center, Girl Up, Lifting Generations and The Expressive Arts Foundation.

Elizabeth earned her MA in Spiritual Psychology from The University of Santa Monica and her Professional Diploma from The Expressive Arts Institute in San Diego in accordance with standards set forth by The International Expressive Arts Therapy Training Network and in compliance with The European Graduate School in Saas Fe, Switzerland.