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Students of Abolition: A Time Capsule

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This zine is the culmination of time spent deep in study, imagination, conversation, and community building during Project NIA's summer 2021 Abolitionist Youth Organizing Institute (AYO, NYC!). A group of 60 young people, ages 16-24 spent 7 days learning about prison industrial complex abolition, organizing, and restorative justice. At the close of the institute a smaller group of participants submitted their reflections on PIC abolition and the envisioning of abolitionist futures. This zine includes submissions from S.L, Jaime, Lily Ahluwalia, Liv, Lauren Dotson, Tasfiya, Chris Chen, J.L.S, Kayana J, Trasonia, Kintan Silvany, Akash Singh, Re'Nyqua Farrington, yvetta fordjour, Zenith Jarrett, Prisca, Hedaia, and Safiya; along with graphic notes from Laura Chow Reeve. It was designed by mickey ferrara.

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This zine is the culmination of time spent deep in study, imagination, conversation, and community building during Project NIA's summer 2021 Abolitionist Youth Organizing Institute (AYO, NYC!). A group of 60 young people, ages 16-24 spent 7 days learning about prison industrial complex abolition, organizing, and restorative justice.

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Using zines for restorative justice practices

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Using zines for restorative justice practices

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projectnia Publisher Publications - Issuu

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Building Community around Love, Gratitude, and Kindness 

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Building Community around Love, Gratitude, and Kindness 

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Flatbush Learns, 2017. Community Practices Project. Mapping.

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Flatbush Learns, 2017. Community Practices Project. Mapping.

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-Rae

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Hidden Histories, Community Practices Project

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Hidden Histories, Community Practices Project

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Focus on Low-Income/Poverty and Resources

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Focus on Low-Income/Poverty and Resources

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Focuses on impact of incarceration on communities.

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Focuses on impact of incarceration on communities.

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-Rae

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Transforming individuals, victims, and communities divided by the criminal justice system

About

Art is the thread that connects all Restorative Justice projects and programs, uniting neighbors who have been affected by crime or violence through shared creative expression. The program facilitates the forging and growth of strong, positive bonds between incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, young adults on probation, and their respective communities. We place a strong emphasis on work readiness with our Guild program and give creative voice to people who have consistently felt disconnected from society.

Current inmates, probationers, and parolees are given the opportunity to learn new skills and make a positive contribution to their communities, to repair harm to communities impacted by crime through neighborhood projects. They receive art instruction, work on new murals, and perform other community service work, helping to shift community perceptions through these constructive contributions.

Restorative Justice participants often feel empowered by their accomplishments and emerge with a newfound sense of pride in their own abilities and enhanced employment readiness skills. Their finished artworks provide everyone with significant reminders of how far they have come, highlighting a hopeful path forward.

If I were to give back anything to the people around me, it would be that, art.

Life After the Guild, with Shaun Durbin Read More

84%

84% of graduates in our Guild re-entry apprenticeship program are not reincarcerated within one year of program completion

78%

78% of Guild graduates are employed or in school after program completion

44.7 million

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections could save approximately $44.7 million annually by reducing its one-year reincarceration rate by 10 percentage points

What is Restorative Justice?

Restorative justice is an alternative to traditional means of rehabilitation and punishment. It brings together offenders, victims, and community members, focusing on conversation and understanding as the first steps on the path to healing. Mural Arts' Restorative Justice program operates within that framework, designing projects that aim to restore and rebuild communities affected by crime, to maintain inclusivity and sensitivity for victims, and to reduce the current recidivism rate.

Government and Nonprofit Collaborators

Mural Arts engages in collaborations with numerous government and nonprofit agencies, including:

City of Philadelphia Youth Violence Reduction Partnership

Pennsylvania Prison Society

State Correctional Institution at SCI Phoenix

Philadelphia Probation Department

Philadelphia Department of Prisons

Home for Good Reentry Coalition of the City of Philadelphia

Numerous community organizations throughout the City of Philadelphia

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Restorative Justice - Mural Arts Philadelphia

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Transforming individuals, victims, and communities divided by the criminal justice system Art is the thread that connects all Restorative Justice projects and programs, uniting neighbors who have been affected by crime or violence through shared creative expression. The program facilitates the forging and growth of strong, positive bonds between incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, young adults on probation, and their respective communities.

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-Rae

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MISSION & VISION

OUR MISSION

Prison Arts Collective works to expand access to the transformative power of the arts through collaboration and mutual learning that supports the development of self-expression, reflection, communication, and empathy by providing multidisciplinary arts programming in correctional institutions and the justice-impacted community.

OUR VISION

We envision a collaborative and inclusive society where everyone has access to the arts to promote wellbeing and empowerment.

​

CORE BELIEFS

We believe in art as a human right.

We believe in the capacity of art to change lives for the better and to make a difference in how we understand ourselves and the world around us.

We believe that every individual is vital and every voice matters.

We value the knowledge, talents, and experience of our participants.

We value collaboration and seek input from all partners and participants for our program planning and design.

We want to bridge societal gaps in understanding others, through art.

We value a model that includes three elements: art history/culture, reflection, and creative practice.

We believe in providing opportunities for training, mentorship, and leadership to all participants and team members. (This includes incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.)

We believe in the power and expertise of our diverse team of teaching artists including first-generation college students, system impacted individuals, and other members of marginalized communities.

We support successful collaborations between public entities, with an emphasis on partnerships with the state university system and state corrections agencies.

​

CBA breaks down elitist notions of who can study or make art and make it equal for everyone. The fact that I can make art accessible and relatable to everyone regardless of who they are makes teaching feel like an activist effort.
-Jessica Agustin, CSUSB, 2017, Teaching Artist

Photos by Peter Merts

Bottom right, Light in the Dark, 2017, by J.C. Tercero
Painting is included in the PAC exhibition, "Beyond the Blue"

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MISSION & VISION OUR MISSION Prison Arts Collective works to expand access to the transformative power of the arts through collaboration and mutual learning that supports the development of self-expression, reflection, communication, and empathy by providing multidisciplinary arts programming in correctional institutions and the justice-impacted community.

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Young New Yorkers, Restorative Justice Through the Arts

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Young New Yorkers, Restorative Justice Through the Arts

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-Rae

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Arts-based diversion programs to court-involved young people in New York, with the ultimate goal of empowering them to transform the criminal justice system

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BIPOC students are disproportionately suspended in U.S. schools. During the pandemic, in-school suspensions have dipped while out of school suspensions have continued to steadily rise. Once school returns to in-person, students will continue to be unjustly punished in school. Ideally, school should be a place of learning and growth. Suspensions stand in the way of that goal, actively taking students away from their education and failing to provide them with the support they need to thrive.

The Pink Slip Project: Avalon Kenny, Molly Rutledge, Mary Anderson, Zoe Stern

In an attempt to unveil the reality of this unjust system, The Pink Slip Project included a public performance/intervention using pink suspension slips and a QR code linking to online resources. This is participatory "installation" had multiple methods of engaging the public and encouraging reflection and action to address the inequities surrounding public school suspensions and their implementation. Bright pink slips made people curious about the information we were sharing and interested in participating. Passersby could sit in a typical school desk to fill out their own pink slips sharing a personal experience of school suspension or to learn more. Participants also helped identify alternatives for suspensions by writing ideas on the suspension slips and in chalk and used our desk installation to share their own stories. Throughout the day, each of the Pink Slip Project collaborators were talking to people about their stories and engaging in dialogue and advocacy for more just suspension methods including discussing restorative justice methods and other alternatives to suspension.

There is also a more anonymous and student led side of this project. Pink Slip Project collaborators worked with New York City high school students to create the materials for the installation and conducted a series of interviews and focus groups to archive their voices and experiences with suspension. These high school perspectives were integral to designing the public performance piece at Washington Square Park.

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BIPOC students are disproportionately suspended in U.S. schools. During the pandemic, in-school suspensions have dipped while out of school suspensions have continued to steadily rise. Once school returns to in-person, students will continue to be unjustly punished in school. Ideally, school should be a place of learning and growth.

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Restorative Justice Strategies for the Art Room

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Restorative Justice Strategies for the Art Room

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-Liz

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Try Restorative Justice Strategies to Foster Relationships in Your Art Class - The Art of Education University

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The following article is written by an art educator. We recognize that art teachers are not licensed therapists or counselors. If you are experiencing concerns about trauma, violence, and mental health in your classroom, please seek assistance from professional school counselors, and adhere to your…

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Webinar from the Center for Justice Innovation with artists and practitioners on using arts in a restorative justice framework -Liz

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Murals send a collective message about who we are. Painting creates respite. Theater allows people to get out of their own heads. Singing lowers stress. The arts make us confident, hopeful, and resilient. Based on decades of research and experience, we know that investing in the arts allows communities to thrive.

We gathered artists and organizations for a candid discussion about the various ways arts can help us achieve justice. Through intentional and integrated arts programming, together we can build safer and healthier communities where everybody can live with purpose and dignity.

Speakers

Courtney Bryan
executive director, Center for Court Innovation

Helena Huang
project director, Art for Justice Fund, Ford Foundation (moderator)

Ana Bermúdez
commissioner, New York City Department of Probation

Pastor Isaac Scott
program director, The Confined Arts

Sophia Dawson
artist and facilitator, sophia-dawson.com

Amy Ellenbogen
director of arts strategies, Center for Court Innovation

Links and Resources
Programs

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The arts make us confident, hopeful, and resilient. Based on decades of research and experience, we know that investing in the arts can help us achieve justice. Watch a conversation between artists, government, and community-based organizations on how investing in the arts allows communities to thrive.

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The Young New Yorkers project was created to give teenage participants a voice, through community-specific art projects, that would make public their experiences with, and hopes for, New York State’s treatment of adolescents in the criminal justice system. That is, to impact the public conversation around adolescents’ treatment in the criminal justice system through their own public, creative self-expression.

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Young New Yorkers: Restorative Justice Through Public Art - Urban Omnibus

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Architect Rachel Barnard describes her new public art program for adolescents in the criminal justice system and reflects on the potential legal, social, and urban significance of an art- and architecture-based approach to restorative justice.

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-Mayumi

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A guide that explains how communities can get involved and ask for things that they need when federal funding comes to their 

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-Mayumi

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A guide that explains how communities can get involved and ask for things that they need when federal funding comes to their area.

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"Importance of young people to the movement of reform in poverty"

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Discussing Contemporary Artwork with Restorative Justice philosophy

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Discussing Contemporary Artwork with Restorative Justice philosophy

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-Mayumi

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To continue from my first post, at Artistic Noise, we teach a curriculum that focuses on issues relevant to the lives of incarcerated and system-involved youth and uses art to encourage them to develop his or her voice. For every topic we explore, we study the work of contemporary artists who are creating work related to the one at hand. Our use of contemporary art can be as in-depth as creating an artwork inspired by an original piece or as simple as a daily check-in question. We have the luxury of ninety-minute classes to explore a different idea about contemporary artwork in almost every session.

Violence is something that affects so many of these teens. On a recent field trip to MoMA, we looked at, and took back with us, Felix Gonzalez-Torres's "Untitled" (Death by Gun). Our students used his poster-sized artwork to create books with their own views on gun violence. We have also explored Walid Ra'ad's work, Oh, God, He Said Talking to a Tree, while discussing the issue of violence. Through these in-depth discussions, the students explore why contemporary artists, such as Gonzalez-Torres and Ra'ad, choose the materials and imagery they do to convey their idea, meaning, or message.

In our art and entrepreneurship studio, we have an entire wall of examples of contemporary artwork. Our programs are based on the Restorative Justice philosophy, in which we begin and end every group in a circle with a check-in question and a check-out question. Quite often, our check-in question will relate to the contemporary art wall. Recently, we asked students to choose a piece and say one word that they felt described it. One of the boys chose a photo of a woman wearing a shirt with the Jenny Holzer truism stating ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE. The discussion about the artwork was lively, excited, and involved. Not knowing that this piece was part of a series entitled Truisms, the young man described the work as "the truth."

Artistic Noise is also partnering with a GED program that works a similar population. With the teachers, we create art curriculum to reinforce what they are working on in their regular class. This past fall, they had their students studying anatomy. After a visit to the Bodies exhibit with the teachers and their students, we began to cast the students' faces and arms. We studied the art of Kiki Smith closely. One young woman cast her face and spent weeks painting it. She must have painted 15 coats on her mask. She was inspired by one of Smith's works and added tears coming from her own eyes accompanied by her own words.

On a different trip to MoMA while working on this project, this same student saw Specter of Gardenia by Marcel Jean-a plaster head with eyes zippered shut. Since then, the student has begun to expand her body of work in a much more focused manner. In her artist's statement for a linocut she wrote:

If you look in my eyes, what do you see? Pain, hurt, lies, darkness, and more. Just by looking at her you will start to understand her story. You will begin to feel her pain, hear her lies and become one with her in her world of darkness.

Working with art allows these students to express themselves, as well as consider different approaches artists employ to communicate in general and advocate for change specifically.

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Making Artistic Noise Part 2: Contemporary Activist Art | Art21 Magazine

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To continue from my first post, at Artistic Noise, we teach a curriculum that focuses on issues relevant to the lives of incarcerated and system-involved youth and uses art to encourage them to develop his or her voice.

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The Art of Education: 5 Concrete Ways to Help Students Living in Poverty

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The Art of Education: 5 Concrete Ways to Help Students Living in Poverty

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This is a nice website since it is art based.

-Antonella

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As educators, we come across a vast number of students from all walks of life. In Statistics On How Poverty Affects Children in Schools, author Jana Sosnowski shared, "Approximately one in five children in the United States live in poverty, according to the American Psychological Association, a status that affects more than housing status and food supply." This is something that has triggered lots of talk about educational reform.

Many circumstances students living in poverty encounter are beyond their control. They can face many challenges that affect their brain development, emotional well-being, relationships with others, and school achievement. When serving in schools with students who are living in poverty, it is important to know how to do our best to help and empower our students.

Check out these 5 concrete ways to help students living in poverty.

1. Have high expectations.

When you have students who are living in poverty, compassion is important. But, it does students an injustice if you do not hold them to high expectations. As educators, we want our students to do their best and succeed in our class and life. Holding students to high expectations allows them to work toward reachable goals that can empower them with intrinsic motivation. This is important because once a student leaves your class, hopefully, you have instilled in them the power to work hard toward their goals and rise to the occasion.

Here are 4 ideas to try.

Give students the opportunity to set goals. Then, coach them to achieve their goals.

Hold students accountable for classroom expectations. Have conversations about why they are important to follow.

Expect the best out of students when it comes to their work.

Be a role model. Share your goals and high expectations for yourself with your students.

2. Expose students to places outside of the classroom.

Many times students' experiences can be limited due to their means and their parents/caregivers experiences. It is integral to show students the world around them and open their eyes to what the world has to offer.

Here are 4 ideas to try.

Teach students about different career options, arts-related or not.

Bring in artists and other career professionals to speak to your class.

Get students off school grounds and take a field trip to a local museum.

Use the web to take a virtual field trip through museum websites or videos.

Finally, be sure to connect learning in the classroom to real life experiences. This will truly enhance your students' perspective as they learn and move through life.

3. Build relationships with your students and their families.

Building relationships is a key aspect when it comes to a creating a positive learning environment. It also helps foster mutual respect and trust with your students and their families. One factor those living in poverty often face is high mobility due to unstable living situations. Be a source of consistency. Let your students and families know they can trust you and make them feel welcome.

If you're interested, we have a PRO Learning Pack dedicated to building positive relationships. You can explore a variety of activities for building trust and engagement including how to use art processes to build positive social and emotional skills.

4. Teach them social-emotional learning strategies.

Students who live in poverty can have trouble focusing in school because of things troubling them in their personal lives. It's important to teach positive social and emotional skills that can build trust, respect, community, and personal growth. These skills can also help students learn to regulate their feelings and transition to a mindset ready for learning. Let's take a look at three ideas.

Breathing Techniques

A great way to teach students how to regulate their emotions is to take a step back and do some breathing techniques. If your school does not already teach breathing techniques, you can easily do this in your classroom.
3 Strategies to Try:

Beach Ball
Have students pretend they are holding an imaginary beach ball. When they inhale they pretend the ball is expanding. While they exhale they pretend the ball is squeezing inward.

Square
This breathing technique simply has students take their finger and trace a square in front of them in the air. As students make the first line for the top of the square, they inhale. As students make the second line of the square going down, they exhale and so on. You can repeat this as many times as you want.

Bunny Breath
This is a great breathing strategy, especially for your youngest students. Have your students pretend to be rabbits. They will need to take three quick sniffs in the nose, and one long exhale out the nose.

Calm Down Corner

A Calm Down Corner is a space in your classroom that allows students who are not regulated or in the proper mindset to begin learning to go and regulate themselves. You can have students use a stress ball, glitter bottles, or breathing techniques to begin to calm down. You may also want to have a self-reflection sheet available to help students process their feelings.

Classroom Circles

One way to build community is through classroom circles. This technique involves students getting in a circle and sharing based on a prompt given by the teacher.
Here is how it works:

Students get in a circle with the teacher. Ground rules should be shared to promote trust, respect, and honesty.

The teacher shares a prompt for students to answer.

The only person talking must hold a "talking piece." This practice allows each student to have a turn without interruption.

When everyone who wants to speak has spoken, the teacher can close the circle and thank the students for sharing.

In general ed circles, sometimes this technique is practiced daily. However, if you are a teacher who doesn't see your students every day, you could try implementing it once or twice a month.

5. Create a positive classroom culture

Making sure you have a classroom that exudes positivity and community is important. Be sure to teach your students to be compassionate and respectful toward one another. It can be helpful to have specific conversations about not judging others, especially on outward appearances. Team building exercises, modeling kindness, having mutual respect, and sharing the importance of accepting others are great ways to make this happen in your classroom.

Overall, students living in poverty are just like other children, but they can encounter limitations and barriers that make it harder to learn. We must do our best to make sure each child knows how special they are and that no matter what problems they may face, there is someone who loves and believes in them.
What tips do you have for teachers working with students living in poverty? Do you use social-emotional strategies in the classroom?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

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5 Concrete Ways to Help Students Living in Poverty

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Educating students who live in poverty is a vital part of today's curriculum. Here are 5 ways you can start making strides towards serving kids in poverty more effectively. Resources, lists, and images to helo you educate and teach kids in poverty. This article will take 7 minutes to read.

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When on the website, go to "Our Articles" and then "advice for students" it has many different articles on how to relieve stress, family talk, and teach kindness. There are also ways for people to get involved by donating and tutoring.

-Antonella

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Advice for Students Archives - Educate. Radiate. Elevate.

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Mark Bradford used both collage and décollage. In "Black Venus," a map-like way of painting was used. It was to tell a story that Mark had made up.

-Antonella

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"My practice is both collage and décollage at the same time," says Mark Bradford. "Décollage you take it away, and then collage, I immediately add it right back." Using a combination of signage from the city streets, including business advertisements and merchant posters, twine, and glue, Bradford produces wall-sized paintings and installations that are a reflection of "the conditions that are going on at that particular moment at that particular location," he says.

In one installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Bradford uses video to juxtapose two events-a celebratory Martin Luther King Day parade in Los Angeles, and a busy Muslim marketplace in Cairo.

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Mark Bradford transforms materials scavenged from the street into wall-size collages and installations that respond to the impromptu networks-underground economies, migrant communities, or popular appropriation of abandoned public space-that emerge within a city. Drawing from the diverse cultural and geographic makeup of his southern Californian community, Bradford's work is as informed by his personal background as a third-generation merchant there as it is by the tradition of abstract painting developed worldwide in the twentieth century. Bradford's videos and map-like, multilayered paper collages refer not only to the organization of streets and buildings in downtown Los Angeles, but also to images of crowds, ranging from civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s to contemporary protests concerning immigration issues.

"My practice is both collage and décollage at the same time. Décollage you take it away, and then collage, I immediately add it right back."

Discuss: Before

How can the processes of drawing and painting, like sculpture, be both additive and subtractive?

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Interview

Artist Mark Bradford discusses his 2006 installation Market>Place.

Art21 is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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Art21 is a celebrated global leader in presenting thought-provoking and sophisticated content about contemporary art, and the go-to place to learn first-hand from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, Art21's mission is to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.

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https://artteacher.yolasite.com/autobiography-maps.php

-Antonella

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As of 2019, 5% of the world's population resides on the territory of the United States. However, the US prison population makes up 25% of the world's prison population, with the country assuming the leader position in global incarceration rates. Since the 1970s, incarceration in America has increased by 700%. It is now well known that mass incarceration does not affect all US communities equally. According to The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other nonprofit organizations that documented research into incarcerations in the US, one out of every three Black boys born today will go to prison in his lifetime, as will one of every six Latino boys, as compared to one of every 17 white boys.

Thus, one of the harms of mass incarceration, as analyzed by lawyers and academics such as Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson, is that it serves as a contemporary tool of oppression for Black and Brown communities that have historically been persecuted in America. The documentary "13TH" by Ava Duvernay skillfully explores this reality. This is charted from slavery, through Jim Crow and the War on Drugs, to the current state of disenfranchisement through incarceration. In addition to this troubling role, the actual impact of mass incarceration on crime rates is highly questionable. The Brennan Center for Justice, in its 2015 review of the research, found that incarceration's effect on crime since 2000 has been non-existent. Instead, the decline in crime seen in the last two decades was owed to "various social, economic, and environmental factors" - for example, growth in income and an aging population. The report concluded that programs targeted towards boosting economic opportunities and expanding treatment programs would be better public safety investments than the current astronomical investments ($182 billion a year according to World Prison Brief) into incarceration.

Restorative Justice

Increasing realization of racialized mass incarceration has meant that restorative justice has made its way into mainstream discussions and initiatives to serve as an alternative to incarceration.

Rooted in Native American and indigenous practices, restorative justice is a set of principles and practices that aims to help communities heal from conflict and harm by developing a common understanding of the root causes and effects. Restorative justice can occur in a variety of different contexts: in the workplace, at schools and within, or instead of, the criminal justice system. It rests on the belief that everyone involved in conflict and harm - often categorized as those who perpetrate it and those who are the victims - deserve healing, community care, and the opportunity to grow. There are three main "pillars" associated with restorative justice - harms and needs, obligation (to put right) and engagement (of stakeholders). There is no one particular way of taking part in restorative justice. Often, it can take the shape of moderated group meetings with the immediate actors as well as wider community members to talk through particular conflicts, paying close attention to everyone's needs.

In the US, restorative justice is most often used in schools, which research shows to have several advantages over traditional disciplinary methods, including a better relationship between students and teachers and lower rates of disciplinary referrals. It has also been used with success in courts in Colorado, Chicago, and New York, where young people charged with non-violent felonies or misdemeanors, instead of being incarcerated, can take part in a mediated dialogue with various actors and engage with ideas of restitution targeted at the local community.

Through the growing prominence of restorative justice, a new development has emerged: the introduction of art to restorative justice.

Art and Restorative Justice

There is a growing consensus that art can be a powerful tool in restorative justice processes. This is, in part, due to the therapeutic nature of art - art, as an introspective and expressive endeavor, can encourage emotional processing and the kind of active and productive healing that restorative justice aims towards.

To that end, there are several organizations that have created programs that integrate art and restorative justice in and around the criminal justice system: Young New Yorkers, the Prison Arts Collective in California, a program in Nashville, the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, the Justice Arts Coalition, a nation-wide project, Transform/Restore Brownsville, and Project Reset in Brooklyn, among others.

How do these organizations bring art and restorative justice together? There are two main approaches: a diversionary approach, in which programs conducted by the organization serve as alternatives to incarceration, and an integrated approach, in which certain restorative justice aims are achieved through art, but within an incarceration setting.

Interacting with the Criminal Justice System

Young New Yorkers and Project Reset are two New York-based organizations that have developed successful diversionary programs that combine art and restorative justice. Project Reset was started in 2015 by the Manhattan District Attorney's office to give teenagers who have committed nonviolent crimes such as trespassing and turnstile-jumping the opportunity to avoid criminal justice involvement. The process "begins at the point of arrest and before arraignment," when police officers inform potential participants of their eligibility for this program. The program itself consists of two counselling sessions of three-hours each, where participants may be paired with an artist. The artists then lead group activities for participants, focusing on positive self-expression. On completion of the program, the case is "declined by the local district attorney's office, the arrest record is sealed, and the individual never sets foot in a court room." The program has a 98% completion rate, with 96% of participants recommending it to others. To date, more than 1,750 people have participated in the program.

Young New Yorkers, a nonprofit founded in 2012 by Rachel Barnard, is somewhat similar. Through conversations with the Honorable Judge Gubbay, and with the support of Brooklyn Defender Services, Brooklyn Legal Aid, and the Brooklyn District Attorney, Young New Yorkers, a restorative justice and arts program, has now become a court-mandated alternative to incarceration for 16 and 17 year olds convicted of misdemeanors. Graduates of the program thereby avoid being "saddled" with the burden of a lifelong criminal record, while engaging in a workshop that allows them self-reflection and "healing from the harms of the system," as described by Ms. Barnard.

Young New Yorker graduates with Executive Director Rachel Barnard, program artist Ash Rucker, and program teacher and artist Izzy Webb. Credit: Mansura Khanam, courtesy of Young New Yorkers.

Daniel Aguilar, a 25-year-old Young New Yorkers graduate and ambassador for the organization, spoke to the Center for Art Law about his experience with the program when he was 16 years old. Engaging with art, for him, was powerful as a self-reflective tool; it allowed him to "dig down deep inside" and ask himself questions such as: "Who am I? What do I think I can become?" The program allowed him a "safe space" to "decompress, breathe and analyze." One of the projects he completed during the program was a collage of different animals, all of which symbolized certain concepts or feelings - lions for strength, eagles for bravery. Another project involved taking simple videos of a regular day, encouraging mindfulness and attention to the small aspects of everyday life. "It grounded me in a bigger purpose," Daniel reflects. Daniel is currently in the process of developing a restorative justice curriculum at a school in New York, which is one of the many ways in which he enjoys "giving back" to his community.

Meanwhile, projects such as the Prison Arts Collective are grounded in "principles of restorative justice" but adopt an integrative approach rather than a diversionary approach. As such, they offer art programs in corrections facilities that "serve the needs of each specific population." They understand art as promoting the "development of self-expression, reflection, communication and empathy."

Other projects such as Mural Arts Philadelphia adopt a post-incarceration approach to restorative arts and justice. The Guild, one of their programs, gives formerly incarcerated people the opportunity to work on creative projects such as "mural making, carpentry and mosaics," while concurrently developing "job skills" and reconnecting with their community. The Guild seeks to prevent re-incarceration and has success with this - participants of the Guild are recidivistic at a "marginal" rate of 12%, versus a 35% average across the state of Pennsylvania.

The Way Forward

What can these projects and organizations suggest about the way forward for justice, particularly in the age of mass incarceration?

"The collateral consequences of a 16- or 17-year-old being sentenced as an adult and in turn incurring a criminal record can be devastating on a young life, narrowing one's chances of completing high school, attending college, finding a career, or accessing many welfare and housing benefits," writes Ms. Barnard. This is in addition to the trauma of facing arrest as a teenager. Ms. Barnard details how, during a photography field trip intended for the kids to "make sense of the experience of the arrests," one 16-year-old described how scary it was to be handcuffed, turning around as though "shoved against the police van." A criminal justice system that disproportionately affects Black and Brown people and ultimately inefficient at tackling community harms appears to be particularly ill-suited to young people, creating high recidivism rates and affecting those who already have "high levels of instability" in their lives.

Restorative justice through art instead offers a more nuanced exploration of the factors that lead to community harms and encourages positive thinking about the ways in which individuals and communities can be restored from them. Not only, as detailed earlier, do these projects have more success in eliminating future harms, but they also reflect greater respect for the human dignity of those taking part in these projects. The core beliefs of restorative justice - of everyone's potential for growth and collective empathy - humanizes young people instead of "other"-ing them for choices made under conditions unknowable to others. Incarceration, by contrast, a cruel, violent and unnecessary practice, reinforces negative and damaging messages to young people, pulling them further into cycles of harm.

A deeper consequence of restorative justice through art is to encourage us as a society to confront and interrogate our understanding of "crime." Against the backdrop of research showing that the decline in crime is attributable to social and economic factors, as well as the research indicating that the majority of children affected by incarceration have high levels of instability in their lives, it would be short-sighted to understand crime as the singular domain of "bad people." A more honest approach would understand "crime" as a broader community harm that flows in cycles from the conditions of society that already inflict harm and, in the cases of poverty and racism, intergenerational trauma on young people. Restorative justice brings us closer to this truth, through exploration of the causes and consequences of such harms on both the individual and the community.

More broadly, restorative justice and art initiatives cultivate a culture of empathy and mutual understanding that young people deserve the opportunity to "rewrite their own story," as Ms. Barnard told the Center for Art Law during an in-person conversation. Art can and should be used as a powerful tool with which to access this higher level of common humanity. The resulting connection between all members of society would allow for a more positive and ambitious vision for everyone's future.

Acknowledgments: The author thanks Rachel Barnard and Daniel Aguilar for speaking with her about the work and mission of Young New Yorkers. More information about the program can be found here.

Endnotes:

Suggested readings:

About the Author: Madhulika Murali was a Fall 2019 intern at the Center for Art Law. She is undertaking a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at New York University School of Law, focusing on how law relates to social justice. She completed her undergraduate law degree at the University of Oxford (U.K.) and specialized in human rights law. Madhulika can be reached at mm10773@nyu.edu.

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Art and Restorative Justice: Transformative Healing Through Expression | Center for Art Law

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By Madhulika Murali. As of 2019, 5% of the world's population resides on the territory of the United States.[1] However, the US prison population makes up 25% of the world's prison population, with the country assuming the leader position in global incarceration rates.[2] Since the 1970s, incarceration in America has increased by 700%.[3] It is...

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Detained Youth Restorative Justice Program

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Detained Youth Restorative Justice Program

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-Mayumi

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- Crystal Bruno, teaching artist

Through a mural residency program for incarcerated youth, Groundswell artists work onsite within detention facilities. These murals give incarcerated youth the platform to share their visions for transformative futures for themselves and restorative justice. Through the art-making process, participants have the opportunity to experience how collaboration may impact their lives post-release. Our broader goal is to reduce the potential for recidivism through the development of mentorship relationships with Groundswell artists and staff and the engagement of participants in our core programs post-release.

From November 2016 to March 2017, Groundswell presented "Perspectives from the Inside: A Rikers Mural Project" a twelve-mural initiative that highlighted the positive impact they can have on their surroundings, no matter how difficult. Incarcerated youth awaiting and serving sentences at Rikers Island collaborated with Groundswell artists to reflect on their experiences and create art that expressed their introspective perspectives on restorative futures for themselves and other incarcerated people.

In conjuncture with our "Perspectives from the Inside: A Rikers Mural Project" initiative, Groundswell presented "Freedom is a Constant Struggle, With Angela Davis," on April 6, 2017. Renowned author, activist, and scholar Angela Davis joined a distinguished panel of Groundswell-affiliated artists and academics for a conversation about youth incarceration and making art inside the walls of Rikers Island. This event celebrated Groundswell's 20th anniversary with an in-depth look at its ongoing work creating public art on Rikers Island with New York City youth imprisoned there.

The program began with a talk by Angela Davis exploring the topic, "Freedom is a Constant Struggle." With Davis's observations about racial inequality and injustice as a frame, the panel looked closely at Groundswell's Rikers Island murals, the processes used to create them, and their implications for understanding justice and the institutions of incarceration.

Murals in this Series

Leake and Watts and Groundswell partnered to inspire youth people in incarceration to gain awaren...

Groundswell worked in collaboration with Rikers Saturday Academy to create a mural inspired by th...

Groundswell worked in collaboration with the Passages Academy at Crossroads Juvenile Center in Br...

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Detained Youth Restorative Justice Program

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Crystal Bruno, teaching artist Through a mural residency program for incarcerated youth, Groundswell artists work onsite within detention facilities. These murals give incarcerated youth the platform to share their visions for transformative futures for themselves and restorative justice. Through the art-making process, participants have the opportunity to experience how collaboration may impact their lives post-release.

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Media, Prisons, and Chilean Revolution with Vee Bravo

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People's Paper Co-Op: Mark Strandquist and Courtney Bowles

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The mission of The Village of Arts and Humanities is to support the voices and aspirations of the community through providing opportunities for self-expression rooted in art and culture.