ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Story From Within is a project designed to reawaken the human sensibilities of both incarcerated youth and youth who are currently implicated in the criminal justice system. Workshops are proposed to take place inside a selected youth carceral facility to focus on personal development, identity, and sociopolitical consciousness. Visual art and poetic prose are the pedagogical tools that will be used to support students on the journey. A key element of the workshops is sharing the creative contributions of incarcerated youth with the public, specifically a cohort of youth, who are currently attempting to avoid incarceration. Youth on the outside will be selected from a local non-profit organization, and prompted to engage in a workshop series similar to that of their incarcerated counterparts. By executing this project with both cohorts, the project aims to amplify a dialogue among New York City youth in different parts of the school-to-prison pipeline spectrum. This will not only allow offer an opportunity to build community but also put the aforementioned youth in a position to inspire one another on their paths toward redemption.
The project seeks to answer the following questions: When thinking about art therapy, what role does the modality of storytelling play in reawakening critical human components, such as empathy, compassion, and pride, that are being suppressed by carceral experiences? Can students who are allowed to share their stories with the public, in turn, receive stories from new community members that illuminate understanding and inspire them to embark on a redemptive path?