Year: 2025

In a quiet corner of Dover, NH, Danielle Festa’s Aplomb Project is turning the intimate pain of trauma into transformative art. Her mixed-media portraits honor survivors by weaving their stories of resilience into bold, dignified creations. Danielle’s work isn’t just about art—it’s about reclaiming strength. With paint, embroidery, and raw emotion, she gives survivors a way to see themselves in a new light. One piece, Taken. Found., portrays her cousin Sue, who survived decades of silence after enduring incestuous sexual abuse. Danielle’s anger and heartbreak poured into the piece, creating something as fierce as it is hopeful: “You reclaim yourself, piece by piece; you rebuild with love, anger, and resilience.”

The Aplomb Project’s reach goes far beyond Dover, drawing survivors and advocates from across the country. Each portrait tells a story of light and shadow, vulnerability and courage, past and future. There’s Sravya, who saw only darkness behind a screen door but now steps forward bathed in gold light. There’s Hope Jai, reclaiming painful memories with a bold red jacket and a direct gaze. And there’s Danielle herself, diagnosed with an aggressive cancer just weeks before a major exhibit, who used her own battles to inspire others. Her work creates a space where survivors feel seen, stories are celebrated, and strength is rebuilt one brushstroke at a time.

Danielle’s work asks an impossible question: How do you go on being when the world has shattered around you? And her art offers an answer. But the most surprising part of her story may not be on the canvas—it might just be what happened during our interview.

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