FILM SCREENING AND WORKSHOP AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY

The workshop and screening event led by Multidisciplinary Visual Artist and Journalist Isaac I. Scott on Saturday, March 23, offered a transformative exploration of arts engagement for justice and economic empowerment. Attendees engaged in an immersive experience that transcended traditional boundaries, delving into evidence-based interventions and innovative approaches for fostering justice and economic empowerment through art. Scott's expertise in leading arts sessions and his emphasis on listening, avoiding retraumatization, and decompression activities resonated deeply with participants, highlighting the power of arts in carceral settings. The screening of BEFORE TIME / AFTER TIME further showcased the transformative potential of art, as formerly incarcerated individuals shared poignant poetry and letters grappling with their pasts. Through art, they confronted their mistakes, asked for forgiveness, and revealed their humanity, challenging traditional narratives of irredeemability. As attendees reflected on envisioning a world without jails, prisons, or punishment, they were reminded of the power of art to transcend physical and mental confines, inspiring dreams of a more compassionate and equitable future.

THE CORNELL DAILY SUN:
​Art Humanizes Currently and Formerly Incarcerated People

​By Finley Williams

Isaac Scott has an unconventional resume. As a young man (born and raised) in Harlem, NY, searching for a father figure, he turned to drug dealing and street life. He cycled through home, streets and school until he gained his associate’s in 2004, but could not afford the small cost for his cap and gown. Frustrated, hurt, he turned back to the streets and spent 9 years in prison, where he learned vocational trades but was also introduced to visual art as a means of financial sustenance and emotional coping. When he left prison in 2014, he founded an arts and advocacy group called Isaac’s Quarterly, majored in Visual Arts at Columbia University, became an ordained minister and is currently...

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE