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A push to change Colorado's prison culture and perceptions — one art piece at a time

Moe Clark

August 23, 2021 |

Colorado Newsline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

The Prison Arts Initiative program, jointly run by the Colorado prison system and University of Denver, puts personal expression through visual and performing arts at the heart of the prisons' mission to become less punitive and more rehabilitative. With exhibits like "Chained Voices," featuring paintings by incarcerated people, the program aims to give hope to people by making them feel seen and valued as fully human. Formerly incarcerated artists say they valued not only the personal growth they experienced, but also the knowledge that their art could change public perceptions of the people in prison.

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Mural-painting festival showcases Indigenous strength

Meaghan Brackenbury

August 18, 2021 |

Cabin Radio |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada

The Strong People, Strong Communities mural-painting festival highlights positive Indigenous stories. The project paired 11 young artists with 11 elders in six teams, each of which painted a mural with a distinct theme. The artists collaborated virtually on the designs and while some artists attended the festival to paint together others were produced digitally. The murals showcase the positive contributions of a diversity of Indigenous voices - including LGBTQ2S+, women, and youth – which helps them feel empowered and contributes to a sense of confidence in their cultural identities.

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Nonprofit Esperanza Threads helping refugees and immigrants stitch together their American dream

Danita Harris

August 05, 2021 |

WEWS-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Esperanza Threads provides sewing training to refugees and immigrants so that they can find sustainable jobs and provide for their families. The students learn to make t-shirts, bags, and baby products, which are sold on the organization’s website. To emulate an actual job experience, the two-month long program pays the trainees a stipend for their time and their work. The group partners with resettlement agencies, shelters, rehabilitation facilities, and churches to reach new clients. The training has also had the effect of increasing hope and building self-esteem among the participants.

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Studio Rebels Against Mexico's Male-Dominated Art Scene

Ena Aguilar Peláez

July 20, 2021 |

Global Press Journal |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Oaxaca

As a response to the marginalization and sexism women engravers face, a studio collective features the engravings of around 60 women from all over Mexico. The “Mujeres Grabando” exhibit’s original 30 pieces of art were received in response to a call online for women to contribute to the collective. Now, the exhibition travels all over the country and the featured artists have been elevated and are able to sell their art. The studio members have had opportunities to collaborate and make meaningful connections.

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Hong Kong Protests, Silenced on the Streets, Surface in Artworks

Mike Ives

May 20, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Hong Kong

Even though police silenced the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, artists, writers, and filmmakers are producing work about the protests in more abstract and ambiguous ways to evade authorities. For example, the Goethe-Institut’s Hong Kong branch hosted a mixed show that included photographs of the 2019 protests that the artist had punched, ripped, or cut in order to hide protestors’ identities. Even though Chinese law criminalizes anything that the government deems as promoting “secession, subversion, or collusion with foreign powers,” several other exhibits are also featuring protest art.

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Captured and Converted: How Methane Powers Art in Western North Carolina

Jessica Bradley Wells

April 27, 2021 |

The Bitter Southerner |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Dillsboro, North Carolina

Jackson County Green Energy Park uses methane leaking from a closed landfill to power blacksmithing and glassblowing studios. The county cleared 550 tons of loose debris and drilled thirteen 70-80-foot wells to capture the methane gas produced by bacteria digesting organic material, the 3rd leading human-caused type of greenhouse gas emissions. The studios, which offset the equivalent of taking nearly 1,000 vehicles off the road, also provide less expensive and more accessible studio spaces that have launched the careers of several artists. Reuse projects can capture up to 90% of a landfill’s methane.

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The Clever Architectural Feature That Makes Life on Bermuda Possible

Luke Fater

March 31, 2021 |

Atlas Obscura |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Bermuda

There is no natural freshwater source on Bermuda, so residents turn to rainfall as a way to fulfill their water needs. The white limestone Bermuda roofs are used to catch and redirect rain into underground tanks that serve as their primary source of freshwater. Droughts happen, which has led to other solutions, but the limestone roofs are still primarily their largest source of freshwater.

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Prison Renaissance program at San Quentin uses art to end cycles of incarceration

Jason Beal

March 26, 2021 |

KGO-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

Three men currently or formerly incarcerated at San Quentin Prison founded Prison Renaissance to connect artists and writers inside prison to audiences and potential funders outside. They produced an art exhibit that was shown digitally at the Museum of the African Diaspora. By creating a rehabilitative program on their own without prison administration involvement, the men demonstrate their humanity and talents, while also generating income for the artists.

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How to reuse a demolished building

Charlotte Horn

March 23, 2021 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Switzerland, Winterthur

A warehouse in Switzerland is being transformed into new creative workspaces. The catch: It’s being constructed out of reused building materials. About 70 percent of it is being made from old materials like wood floorboards, steel beams, and windows. A network of treasure hunters are on the lookout for used materials that can be used in constructing these buildings. The workspace is nearly complete and it already has tenants for all of the spaces. They were also able to cut the building’s carbon emissions in half.

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For Rohingya Survivors, Art Bears Witness

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 19, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

Artolution provides art education and supplies to Rohingya Survivors in Bangladesh refugee camps, all of whom experienced severe trauma, to create life-affirming and informative murals. Topics range from safe hygiene practices to the dangers of domestic violence. The group trains artists to become muralists and teachers and pays them an annual stipend. The murals help artists heal, provide important public health information to the community, and amplify the cultural traditions they had to hide for so long. The nearly 200 murals are on almost all surfaces of the refugee camp from latrines to “monsoon walls.”

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