art in prison

The following full uncut conversation is from our recent episode "Imagination in the Face of Incarceration."  It is available here as a podcast thanks to generous contributions from listeners like you. Thank you.  Become a member supporter at LauraFlanders.org/donate

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Description:  What difference can art make for people in prison? The state of Michigan spends $48,000 per prisoner every year — with little to no money going towards funding for prison education, art and rehabilitation programs. The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) is an independent program of the University of Michigan that supports formerly incarcerated artists, facilitates creative arts workshops and even hosts an annual exhibition to showcase incarcerated artists’ work. PCAP was founded by William “Buzz” Alexander, the late husband of Janie Paul, the curator of PCAP and author of the book based on the project: “Making Art in Prison: Survival and Resistance”, out now via Hat and Beard Press. As you’ll hear in the program, the work of PCAP has built a vibrant community of artists inside and outside prison walls. Joining us for this conversation are Janie Paul and artist Yusef Qualls, known as Q. He was released from prison five months ago after being sentenced to life as a minor and serving 28 years. Danny Valentine is a formerly incarcerated artist also featured in the book, who credits PCAP for saving his life. What can incarcerated artists teach us about why humans make art and the power it holds? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on poets imagining Gaza.

Guests:

•  Janie Paul: Author, Making Art in Prison: Survival and Resistance; Emerita Professor of Art, University of Michigan; Curator, Prison Creative Arts Project

•  Q (Yusef Qualls): Former Juvenile Lifer & Incarcerated Artist

•  Danny Valentine: Formerly Incarcerated Artist

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more.

The Laura Flanders Show Crew:  Laura Flanders, Sabrina Artel, David Neuman, Nat Needham, Rory O'Conner, Janet Hernandez, Sarah Miller and Jeannie Hopper

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

In this episode, you will meet Dameion Brown. 

At age 24, Dameion went to prison. He was expected to get out in 5-7 years. It took 23 years. 

Near the end of his time in prison, Dameion took a Shakespearian acting class that would set him on the path of becoming an actor. After leaving prison, Dameion would play the lead role in Marin Shakespeare’s Othello and win several awards as a professional actor in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

In addition to working as an actor on stage and on screen, Dameion’s mission is to “drain prisons of the lifeblood that feeds them.” A leader in the community, Dameion helps children at two juvenile prison facilities in Stockton California. 

In this episode you will hear Dameion’s story and the lessons he’s learned along the way: from his arrival at San Quentin prison to the present where he is a professional actor, storyteller, teacher and mentor who serves others.

In this Episode, You Will Learn

• Dameion’s lesson from his first day at San Quentin Prison
• How survival depends upon paying attention and being present in prison
• Prison group dynamics
• How Dameion was reluctant to commit to the Shakespeare class in prison, but would end up seeing it through
• What it’s like to learn to act in Shakespeare plays in prison
• How Dameion went from prisoner to being a professional actor
• How Dameion relates to the character Othello
• Dameion’s favorite play by Shakespeare
• Dameion’s philosophy of loving fully with an open heart
• Dameion’s mission to “drain prisons of the lifeblood that feeds them” and how he works with children in juvenile prisons in Stockton California

Links and Resources

• KALW local public radio interview - insights on Prison Shakespeare Programs from Dameion Brown
• Artist in Residence 2019 Dameion Brown
• Common Wealth Club Speech - Dameion Brown - July 2019
• The Box by Sarah Shourd
• Ubuntu Theater
• Othello
• Merchant of Venice
• Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Stan Roth
• Nick Thurston
• Lisa Keating Photography
• N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility (aka ‘Chad’)
• Prison Population by Gender - 92.9% men and 7.1% women
• The Prison System Compared to the US Population - ...the United States now has more than 2 million people in prisons or jails--the equivalent of one in every 142 U.S. residents--and another four to five million people on probation or parole. A higher percentage of the population is involved in the criminal justice system in the USA than any other developed country.

In this episode of dancecast we talk about art in prison and the impact and experience of it for the teachers and participants and the fine line of who is a teacher to whom in this context.

http://www.truth-be-told.org/
http://www.bodyshift.org
http://stanceondance.com