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'Ripped From The Headlines,' Shocking Fort Lauderdale Art Exhibit Turns Heads

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - 'Ripped From The Headlines' is a provocative new art exhibit.

Its goal is to scare you into action.

You can go check it out at the F.A.T. Village Arts District at 521 NW 1st Ave in Fort Lauderdale.

It features 18 South Florida artists who take on a variety of issues.

CBS4's Amber Diaz first passed a statue of a child hiding under a desk, then her eyes met six female figures. All with personal stories of how they were sexually assaulted.

The artist, Mary Catello said, "It shouldn't be brushed under the carpet and we need to speak out."

And then the big one in the corner body bags with toe-tags.

One patron said out loud, "If somebody can't be moved by this exhibit, they're dead."

"These are all issues that we're hearing about reading about reacting to every day," said Elle Schorr, curator of the exhibit.

Sexual assault and gun reform were among the many topics portrayed in each exhibit.

Rolando Chang Barrero created body bags with toe-tags after the Sandy Hook and Parkland shootings.

"While we're busy debating on which side of the argument we're standing on children are dying," said Barrero, South Florida visual artist.

He used real body bags. The sizes differ depending on the age of the child.

He says his exhibit like the many others is not meant to frighten you. They're supposed to scare you into action.

"We have to be able to at least sort the bodies later of we're not going to take care of the issue."

Schorr said Manuel Oliver, The father of slain Parkland students Joaquin Oliver, will be painting a mural right here in his son's honor on Saturday.

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