The Confined Arts is looking for new and existing artists to collaborate with the “From the Inside Out” project. Selected artists will be given the opportunity to create representational and abstract art that illustrates new narratives about people in prison and people returning home. This includes visual arts, performing arts, poetry, song, and dance. Media artists will be given the opportunity to utilize and experiment with numerous forms of media production.
From the Inside Out is a media and exhibition project that seeks to work closely, over the course of 24 months, with new and existing artists in creating a unique counter-narrative of people in prison and people returning home.
This project offers artists the opportunity to work on a national charitable cause that will simultaneously highlight and promote a culmination of each artist’s individual talents, in a collaborative effort, aimed at tackling a major injustice that affects millions of people across this country on a daily basis. Artists who are selected will receive extensive social media publicity and promotion through press release acknowledgments, as well as a public profile highlighting their artwork on www.isaacsquarterly.com. Stipends for selected artists will range from $50 - $500.
WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE PARTICIPATION OF CURRENTLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE.
PLEASE SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ON THE INSIDE.
*CURRENTLY AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED ARTISTS WILL BE CONSIDERED FIRST.*
Project Scope: Changing Perceptions
People in prison (PIP), including those suffering from mental illnesses, are victims of mistreatment such as violence due to the use of excessive force and severe neglect in the form of moral exclusions and disengagement by prison guards and other staff (Haslam, 2006; Blackler, 2015; Gullapalli, 2015), as per correctional policy. This mistreatment is not conducive to a successful reentry back into society. The US rate of recidivism in 2014 was 76.6% compared to Norway’s 20%. This difference is attributed to Norway’s implementation of the concept of “restorative justice” (Sterbenz, 2014). This concept prioritizes the humanization and rehabilitation of PIP, acknowledging their humanity and treating PIP as people instead of irredeemable and unworthy of acceptance (Dreisinger, 2016). Despite the above research, existing information, and efforts made by activist and organizations lobbying against these conditions, the inhumane treatment continues to occur (Blackler, 2015). This would suggest that a larger constituency remains compliant with, and/or ignorant to, these abuses.
The general public’s negative perception of who people in prison actually are encourages their willingness to legitimize or ignore prison injustices and the dehumanization of PIP. Mainstream media characterizes these negative beliefs about people who go to jail or prison. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day. According to the Television in American Society Reference Library, watching television influences viewers' attitudes about people from other social, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Watching TV also influences the way people think about important social issues such as race, gender, and class. Not only do television, movies and other shared media actively shape attitudes, they also condition people to respond to things in a collective way, to develop shared feelings of ill-will and hatred, and to react impetuously without further thought or self-examination. Forms of media such as TV and film actively (p)redefine and engineer subconscious beliefs about people who go to jail or prison. These beliefs then feed into emotional responses. This is a technique that allows information to bypass any conscious thought.
From the Inside Out is a media and exhibition project that seeks to work closely, over the course of 24 months, with new and existing artists in creating a unique counter-narrative of people in prison and people returning home.
This project offers artists the opportunity to work on a national charitable cause that will simultaneously highlight and promote a culmination of each artist’s individual talents, in a collaborative effort, aimed at tackling a major injustice that affects millions of people across this country on a daily basis. Artists who are selected will receive extensive social media publicity and promotion through press release acknowledgments, as well as a public profile highlighting their artwork on www.isaacsquarterly.com. Stipends for selected artists will range from $50 - $500.
WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE PARTICIPATION OF CURRENTLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE.
PLEASE SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ON THE INSIDE.
*CURRENTLY AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED ARTISTS WILL BE CONSIDERED FIRST.*
Project Scope: Changing Perceptions
People in prison (PIP), including those suffering from mental illnesses, are victims of mistreatment such as violence due to the use of excessive force and severe neglect in the form of moral exclusions and disengagement by prison guards and other staff (Haslam, 2006; Blackler, 2015; Gullapalli, 2015), as per correctional policy. This mistreatment is not conducive to a successful reentry back into society. The US rate of recidivism in 2014 was 76.6% compared to Norway’s 20%. This difference is attributed to Norway’s implementation of the concept of “restorative justice” (Sterbenz, 2014). This concept prioritizes the humanization and rehabilitation of PIP, acknowledging their humanity and treating PIP as people instead of irredeemable and unworthy of acceptance (Dreisinger, 2016). Despite the above research, existing information, and efforts made by activist and organizations lobbying against these conditions, the inhumane treatment continues to occur (Blackler, 2015). This would suggest that a larger constituency remains compliant with, and/or ignorant to, these abuses.
The general public’s negative perception of who people in prison actually are encourages their willingness to legitimize or ignore prison injustices and the dehumanization of PIP. Mainstream media characterizes these negative beliefs about people who go to jail or prison. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day. According to the Television in American Society Reference Library, watching television influences viewers' attitudes about people from other social, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Watching TV also influences the way people think about important social issues such as race, gender, and class. Not only do television, movies and other shared media actively shape attitudes, they also condition people to respond to things in a collective way, to develop shared feelings of ill-will and hatred, and to react impetuously without further thought or self-examination. Forms of media such as TV and film actively (p)redefine and engineer subconscious beliefs about people who go to jail or prison. These beliefs then feed into emotional responses. This is a technique that allows information to bypass any conscious thought.
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The public’s perceptions of PIP is influenced largely by stereotypical mainstream media portrayals of:
1. prison threats, i.e. Dialogue such as “If you go to jail something violent and sexual will happen to you.” 2. prison situations, and i.e. New person enters a violent facility where assaults, rapes, and stabbings take place. 3. physical characteristics of people in prison. i.e. Tattoos, baldheads, huge muscles, and big-black-mean. |
The average TV viewer is not presented with honest representations of:
1. who PIP actually are, i.e. Parents and students vs. murderers and drug dealers. 2. how they productively utilize their prison time, and i.e. Self-advocating, creating programs inside, maximizing limited resources for professional development, and physical care. 3. the good they are capable of when given fair and equal opportunities. i.e. College in prison, skills building projects, and transitional support. |
ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL ARTISTS
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Who should apply?
*Teaching artists and Artists working on the film project much reside in New York City. |
Exhibition Project
This is an open call for new and existing artists to submit visual art that articulates the thoughts, experiences, and/or hardships of people doing time and people returning home. Artworks that include themes such as exploitation, abuses, systematic barriers, and the harsh treatment people in prison suffer at the hands of prison administration will be considered first. This exhibit is vital to changing the way the public perceives people who have been incarcerated. More often than not, mainstream media fails to attribute basic human qualities like emotion, empathy, and self-control to people in prison. Instead, they are portrayed as cold, impetuous and barbaric, which is precisely what this project aims to shift in a major way. Artists should be able to express how his or her work advances the mission of the “From the Inside Out” Project. Film Project
“From the Inside Out” is a 7-part fictional short-film series designed to re-direct and accurately inform the public’s misperception of people in prison and their challenging transitions back into society. Through seven episodes (parts) this film will explore the personal experiences of 5 primary characters. These characters will be divided as such: 2 female characters, 2 male characters, and 1 transgender character, all with different backgrounds, circumstances and prison experiences. Each character’s story will be based on true events experienced by formerly and currently incarcerated people partnering with TCA. The film sequence will consist of flashbacks and flash forwards that will involve cross-cutting different timelines throughout the short and extended prison sentences of the main characters. Engaging with this film project might involve a small amount of self-reflection that will be important for changing how we, as a society, view people with justice involvement. In addition, this project will explore barriers that stand in the way of people in jail/prison being able to function and exercise healthy self-regulatory living inside prison the same way as people do outside prison, as a means of reentry preparation. Fundraisers
Each year TCA will have two major fundraising events for the FIO project. These fundraising events will include symposiums, musical performances, small theatre performances, and more. |
Submit your application now!
TEACHING ARTISTS
APPLICATION AVAILABLE HERE
Please email your questions to: theconfinedarts@gmail.com
