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Art For Justice
Leann Valente is fighting the ugliness of crime with beauty. After having a gun put to her face, she founded Art for Justice and Victims United determined to help victims through the sale of art.
by Nigel Roberts
October 1, 2006
A
lthough Leann Valente had always empathized with crime victims, it was when a carjacker
put a gun to her head that she fully understood the impact of violent crimes. But Valente is not
your typical victim. An artist and former corporate sales executive, Valente utilized her skills to
create Art for Justice and Victims United, a nonprofit foundation to benefit crime victims′ support
organizations.
Valente, a 37-year-old with an easygoing, sociable manner, experienced firsthand what she and many others view as a flawed criminal justice system. Although her carjacking happened three years ago, Valente remembers those events vividly. Fortunately, she was not physically injured in the assault, but when the police discovered her vehicle, it was pierced with bullet holes and missing the valuable art supplies she had been transporting. Once the police arrested the 16-year-old carjacker, Valente says she expected justice to be served—but she was wrong.
For his crimes, the carjacker faced a 15-year sentence, prosecutors told Valente. “But instead of going to trial and giving him 15 years, the prosecutor advised me that a prospective jury would not give a kid 15 years [in prison],” Valente recalls.
“They would feel bad for him – forget about me having a gun to my head for five minutes.” Ultimately, the prosecutor chose to accept a guilty plea and a five-year sentence, although the carjacker will probably get out of prison sooner, Valente laments. Her ordeal didn't end when her assailant went to prison, though. For some time after that, she sought closure. The Buffalo, N.Y. native needed to feel safe again in Atlanta, a city that had become her home seven years before the incident. In trying to sort things out, she came across a network of victims′ support groups. However, she soon discovered that the ever-increasing number of crime victims are overwhelming state-sponsored programs, and that nonprofit groups lack the resources to fully help them.
Valente believes everything in life happens for a reason, and she concluded the incident happened so she could realize her calling. “I felt the need to do something with my art that would be of some benefit to other people,” she recalls. “But I was clueless as to how to do that.”
Before the carjacking, she had been a regular Court TV viewer. Subsequently, her interest in criminal justice matters increased, leading her to become a more im passioned viewer. Nancy Grace, Court TV and CNN Headline Prime host and outspoken victims′ rights advocate, expressed views on her program that Valente shared. So when she learned that Grace was holding a book-signing event in Atlanta, Valente seized the opportunity to meet her. “I came home that night extremely inspired,” Valente says. “I woke up at about 3 a.m. when it popped into my head: Art for Justice. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. It was crystal clear.”
Valente immediately began the task of creating Art for Justice and Victims United, a proposed nonprofit foundation that would raise funds and awareness for crime victim assistance organizations through art sales and exhibitions. “I pretty much stayed up every day and evening trying to develop my plans,” Valente said. “It really came together last October when I started everything officially. By Christmas 2005, my Web site went live and everything took effect.”
Valente, a primarily self-taught painter, is now a full-time artist and the executive director of Art for Justice and Victims United. She displays her artwork, and markets that of other artists in galleries, corporate buildings, upscale restaurants and several cafés around the metro Atlanta area. Valente then donates up to 50 percent of sales to local and national organizations, such as the Gwinnett Sexual Assault Center, Crisis Line & Safe House of Central Georgia, Protect.org and the Carole Sund-Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation.
“The financial support we receive from Art for Justice has truly benefited our organization,” says Abbe Maddox, director of SafeHouse, a domestic violence crisis center in Macon, Ga. The plight of the women and children under the SafeHouse's care touched Valente. Soon, Art for Justice and Victims United began sending not only money, but also art supplies to SafeHouse, which uses the supplies for art therapy – a way for the women and children to relieve stress and express their emotions.
Kim Petersen, executive director of the Carole Sund-Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, said one day Valente called her to say she wanted to do something to help. The foundation offers support and resources to the families of missing persons by raising awareness and helping them to post rewards for their loved ones. “Leann began doing some fundraising and, before I knew it, checks from Art for Justice started coming in to us,” Petersen says. “Not only has she given us money, but she also has given us exposure in Atlanta.”
To expand her knowledge and better serve crime victims, Valente attends criminal justice conferences and seminars around the country. Valente says these conferences, in addition to making her better informed, also provide her with opportunities to network with criminal justice professionals and other advocates.
In addition to funding crime victims advocacy groups, Valente has several other projects underway: Keep Hope Alive is an art therapy program for families and friends of victims; Safe & Sound provides bookmark-style literature to women on how to identify criminals posing as police officers; and soon, the Cartoons Care Project, in which an artist draws therapeutic cartoons for children to color while they live in safe houses.
Valente says the response from the local art and business communities has been amazing. “I've had artists contact me to say they want to be a part of this,” she adds. “They want to donate work… whether for one show, a corporate spot or for the Web site.” By skillfully acquiring opportunities to curate art for corporations around Atlanta, Valente not only provides exposure for her artists, but also calls attention to her cause. “For my corporate events, I always have a picture of missing persons, their information and information about the organizations I support,” Valente explains.
Success has not been easy. “I'm starting from scratch and it's challenging. I had nothing when I began and I'm still scrounging,” she admits. Although many in the corporate world love her idea and attend her events, she still does not have a corporate sponsor.
But the future looks bright. Small and medium-size companies have been more responsive and, to her delight, Nancy Grace temporarily featured a link to Valente's Art for Justice Web site on her homepage. Also in her corner, Valente has a group of devoted volunteers who support her, including the Georgia Lawyers for the Arts Association. “One of my focuses is to get artists from other areas, such as New York, Miami and San Francisco, to start doing events in other areas. My goal is to make this effort nationwide and help crime victims everywhere,” she adds.
She invites artists, patrons, businesses, gallery owners and volunteers who wish to get involved with Art for Justice and Victims United to contact her via e-mail at artforjustice@gmail.com or by phone at 404-350-9232. Those interested may also visit her Web sites – www.artforjustice.com and www.artforjusticeandvictimsunited.org.
