"Opened on the eve of the American Visionary Art Museum's second decade, 'HOPE' was an unabashedly idealistic, art exhibition that championed the radiant and transformative power of hope. Over twenty-five visionary artists, among them many 'super survivors' of enormous personal trauma and challenge, exhibited soulful creations reflecting their individual path to transcendence, and often, a heightened or newfound creativity and greater sense of humor and peace. AVAM also looked at the absence of hope to better define its presence, by championing the lone police officer who worked the San Francisco Bay Bridge with infinite patience, talking down over 200 would-be jumpers to give life a second chance. Curator Hoffberger defined hope, 'For me, hope is the acknowledgement that you are in a narrow space but you have had a glimpse, some flutter, of the possibility to transcend negative confinement and arrive at some more expansive, better, state of being. Hope is not simply wishful thinking, but rather a capacity to hold to the belief that change for the better can and will come, even when you can’t imagine what specific form that change will take.'" - Reflection from Founder, Director, and Chief Curator, Rebecca Hoffberger