Group of people contemplating the Gaslighting wall at Breaking the Silence exhibition.

Breaking the Silence: Traveling Exhibition

A traveling exhibition and publication exploring what shapes us and what too often goes unspoken.

Breaking the Silence is a psychologically informed body of artwork by Natalee Wright exploring grief, estrangement, boundaries, manipulation, resilience, connection, and the complicated experiences that shape who we become.

Originally presented as a solo exhibition in 2026, Breaking the Silence was never intended to simply ask viewers to look at artwork.

It was created to start conversations.

Now, those conversations continue through a traveling exhibition, accompanying publication, and opportunities for community engagement.

The Exhibition

Breaking the Silence brings together mixed-media and colored-pencil works that examine the often-unspoken parts of human relationships and emotional experience.

Through symbolism, layered imagery, visual metaphor, and psychologically informed storytelling, individual works explore experiences including control, manipulation, emotional blackmail, enmeshment, triangulation, dissociation, grief, longing, acceptance, support, empathy, hope, growth, and grace.

Rather than providing viewers with answers, the work invites them to recognize pieces of their own experiences, question familiar narratives, and consider perspectives beyond their own.

Some pieces may feel familiar.

Others may be uncomfortable.

Both responses are part of the conversation.

More than an Exhibition

Breaking the Silence can extend beyond the gallery walls.

Host organizations may incorporate opportunities for conversation and community engagement alongside the exhibition, including artist talks, facilitated discussions, creative programming, book events, and other experiences developed in collaboration with the host venue.

Programming can be adapted to the audience and setting, allowing Breaking the Silence to live differently within each community it visits.

The Book

Breaking the Silence: The Conversations We Don't Always Know How to Have

The Breaking the Silence publication gives the conversations behind the artwork somewhere else to go.

The book pairs artwork from the collection with written monologues that explore the experiences, thoughts, and questions behind each piece.

It can stand independently from the exhibition or serve as a companion for visitors who want to spend more time with the work after leaving the gallery.

Copies may also be incorporated into exhibition programming, community conversations, book events, and educational opportunities.

Through support from the Indiana Arts Commission, complimentary copies are also being made available through select community events.

For every copy sold, $1 is contributed to the Artful Transformations Community Access Fund, helping expand access to creative experiences for those who serve, support, protect, and care for our communities.

Pre-order your copy

Bring Breaking the Silence to Your Community

Breaking the Silence is available for consideration by galleries, arts organizations, libraries, colleges and universities, community organizations, behavioral-health organizations, and other spaces interested in creating meaningful conversations through art.

Potential partnerships may include:

Traveling exhibition of original artwork
Artist talks and Q&A sessions
Book readings, discussions, or signing events
Creative workshops connected to exhibition themes
Facilitated community conversations
Educational programming
Customized programming developed with the host organization

Exhibition configurations and programming can be adapted based on available space, audience, and the goals of the host organization.

About the Artist

Natalee Wright is a multidisciplinary artist whose psychologically informed work examines the experiences, relationships, beliefs, and environments that shape human behavior.

Drawing on a background in forensic psychology and more than two decades in behavioral health, Wright works across colored pencil, painting, sculpture, assemblage, altered photography, and mixed media.

Her work explores trauma, resilience, attachment, grief, transformation, human connection, and the tension between what is visible and what remains hidden.

Breaking the Silence reflects a central question throughout her practice:

What changes when we become willing to look at the things we would rather not talk about?