{"id":82888,"date":"2026-10-02T17:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T21:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=82888"},"modified":"2026-10-02T17:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T21:21:14","slug":"batavia-womens-voices-in-color-stories-told-through-art-the-display-can-be-seen-at-the-richmond-library-during-the-month-of-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/10\/02\/batavia-womens-voices-in-color-stories-told-through-art-the-display-can-be-seen-at-the-richmond-library-during-the-month-of-october\/","title":{"rendered":"BATAVIA\/Women’s Voices in Color, stories told through art, the display can be seen at the Richmond Library during the month of October"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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After interviewing six different women about their experiences, rebuilding their lives after living with domestic violence, Rebecca LeFevre has taken each of their stories and expressed them on canvas. The community can view the art exhibit during the month of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeFevre’s project contains six oil paintings; one created for each woman’s story. They can be viewed at the Richmond Memorial Library Gallery Room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general theme of each painting is included next to each work of art. A detailed story of each interview that motivated the paintings is available online at www.womensvoices.art<\/a> or by scanning the QR code next to each painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project was made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program administered by GO ART!, <\/p>\n<\/div>

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“I came up with the idea for this project, I clearly remember standing in my studio, which is in the basement of my house, and I had been on the phone with a friend of mine, we had a conversation that one of these paintings is inspired by and I felt so joyful, hearing her story because she had been through a lot. The details of her story were very hard, very difficult. But her perseverance, her dedication to figuring out what the truth was and taking the steps that she needed to in her life to grow and overcome the obstacles that she had been faced with was so inspiring,” says LeFevre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I felt like, oh my gosh, I know you’re talking to me about something in confidence, but I wish I could just tell everybody about this. Like, it’s so inspiring. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but I can’t. But maybe I can, you know. And there’s where I could think of colors and textures kind of associated with her story. I’ve had this experience before where I’ve heard something from someone and wished I could share it. And I think art is a way I could do that, and I love abstract painting. It’s so much fun, and it’s the most enjoyable for me when there’s meaning behind it. I mean, color is really cool. I like playing with it, but when there’s something that can touch people’s lives, it makes it all worthwhile.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LeFevre applied for a grant in October of last year and then started with the first interviews in the beginning of December. She started actively painting in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My goal was to do one painting a month. If I could just get one done every month in six months, I’d have six interviews and six paintings. They are oil paint, so that takes a at least six weeks to be fully cured before I can hang it. So, I knew I needed to be done in the middle of summer if we were having a show in October.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some weeks she said she put in five-eight hours in the studio. Other weeks just a few hours.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I love big paintings, but I think that the reason behind doing most of the paintings this large, I wanted it to be life size. You know, we have these experiences; they’re in the past. There’s nothing tangible to associate them with. So, doing something that’s like more person sized, I think, is valuable. You know, and we can relate to that in a different way.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One painting is very small and very different from the others. LeFevre says the person she interviewed described feeling small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I thought the best way to describe feeling small is to make a nice small little piece amongst bigger pieces. You know, size is all relative, so I think that, in the context of the larger work, makes sense. If I was only showing one painting, that might not make sense in and of itself, but in the context of the room, I think the smaller size says a lot.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Art Exhibit is presented in collaboration with the YWCA of Genesee County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Domestic violence is something that spans the spectrum. It impacts men and women from all social classes, races, anybody is possibly able to be impacted by this, and Genesee County is not an exception,” says Jackie Wheeler, Director of Community Services at the YWCA of Genesee County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The YWCA has served over 3,500 people with their food pantry the past few years and have answered over 1,500 hotline calls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have interacted and performed over 1,800 episodes of advocacy. We have had over 2,000 nights of people staying in our safe house. We have had over 300 counseling sessions, and we have done over 1,200 episodes of prevention education in the community. This is something that is near and dear to many people in this room, and we are just so grateful for Becky’s ideas, inspiration, innovation to bringing this unique art exhibit to the voices of survivors of domestic violence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There was a lot of positives from hearing people’s stories, LeFevre said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Every interview I left, I felt great afterward. It was a very rewarding experience to have women be just transparent and honest with me. I am completely inspired by every single person I talk to, and that’s why I also want to make these paintings to like a monument for their experience and platform them because I am very impressed by each and every one of them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After interviewing six different women about their experiences, rebuilding their lives after living with domestic violence, Rebecca LeFevre has taken each of their stories and expressed them on canvas. The community can view the art exhibit during the month of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness month. LeFevre’s project contains \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,23],"tags":[6120],"class_list":["post-82888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","category-genesee-county","tag-womens-voices-in-color"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-lyU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68578,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/29\/ywca-of-genesee-county-launches-powerful-lineup-for-domestic-violence-awareness-month-events\/","url_meta":{"origin":82888,"position":0},"title":"YWCA of Genesee County launches powerful lineup for Domestic Violence Awareness Month Events","author":"aka","date":"September 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release Batavia, NY \u2013 The YWCA of Genesee County is proud to announce a month-long campaign for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) this October, rallying the community around awareness, education, and survivor support through its powerful theme: \u201cRooted in Safety, Rising in Strength.\u201d A full calendar of events invites\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/530234950_1084659980514038_808044698056371514_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C1149&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/530234950_1084659980514038_808044698056371514_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C1149&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/530234950_1084659980514038_808044698056371514_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C1149&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/530234950_1084659980514038_808044698056371514_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C1149&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/530234950_1084659980514038_808044698056371514_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C1149&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":68733,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/04\/batavia-ywca-holds-open-house-on-friday-evening-as-part-of-domestic-violence-awareness-month\/","url_meta":{"origin":82888,"position":1},"title":"BATAVIA\/YWCA holds Open House on Friday evening as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month","author":"aka","date":"October 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The YWCA held a family friendly Open House at their location at 301 North Street on Friday evening. Guided Tours of the YWCA programs were provided, and community agencies were also on hand along with several food trucks. From left Jamie Beedham-Rada, Executive Director\/YWCA of Genesee County, Marcy Morgan\/Dixieland Images\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "City of Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"City of Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/city-of-batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251003_173614-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C589&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251003_173614-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C589&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251003_173614-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C589&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251003_173614-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C589&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251003_173614-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C589&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69574,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/27\/genesee-county-the-ywca-breakfast-panel-shares-systems-of-support-and-stories-of-survival-on-monday-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":82888,"position":2},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/YWCA Breakfast Panel shares systems of support and stories of survival on Monday morning","author":"aka","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The YWCA of Genesee County held a Breakfast Panel at Main Street 56 Theater on Monday morning, to get the word out about systems of support and stories of survival as part of Domestic Violence Awareness month. 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The evening will feature Kathy Ferrara from Batavia\u2019s Original, Alecia Kaus from Video News Service, and Rachel Warren from Woodrow Grooming. Come learn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/mancuso.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":69083,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/batavia-nys-lt-gov-delgado-visits-the-ywca-on-tuesday-afternoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":82888,"position":5},"title":"BATAVIA\/NYS Lt. Gov. Delgado visits the YWCA on Tuesday afternoon","author":"aka","date":"October 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/dmQXBO7i2TQ VIDEO- from left-Crisis Counselor Jacquelyn Wheeler, Program Director Eva Graham, Lt. Gov. 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