CENTERING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Confined Arts is uniquely situated at Columbia’s main campus in the heart of Harlem in New York City. Through the utilization of Columbia’s resources, collaboration, art production and art promotion, TCA builds a bridge between Columbia’s academic spaces and the communities outside their walls to elicit impactful change. TCA brings people together to create art and celebrate communities that counter the harmful, reductive, and dehumanizing narratives that shape and inform public perception and policy decisions.
The crux of TCA’s work rests on the conviction that true-lived narratives must be centered and shared. We base our work and engagement strategies on the lived experiences of artists and staff at TCA, focusing on giving community members the chance to display their individuality and intersectional identities. Through centering the advice and thoughts of individuals and communities directly impacted by the criminal legal system, we prioritize the issues that are most pressing for the community and can appropriately respond to community needs. In this process, we build leadership and advocacy capacity amongst artists within these communities.
The crux of TCA’s work rests on the conviction that true-lived narratives must be centered and shared. We base our work and engagement strategies on the lived experiences of artists and staff at TCA, focusing on giving community members the chance to display their individuality and intersectional identities. Through centering the advice and thoughts of individuals and communities directly impacted by the criminal legal system, we prioritize the issues that are most pressing for the community and can appropriately respond to community needs. In this process, we build leadership and advocacy capacity amongst artists within these communities.
In 2020, COVID-19 and racially motivated motivated deaths by law enforcement have been among the forefront of concerns for individuals and communities directly impacted by the criminal legal system. In addition to being hit with a pandemic, more domestic societal issues have come to light.
covid and incarceration: responding to the now
The health and wellbeing of people who are currently incarcerated and reentering society under the COVID-19 pandemic has been compromised in unprecedented ways.
We are committed to making TCA’s resources available to contribute to efforts that protect the health and safety of our community or advocate for permanent release and reform of the criminal legal system. We formed and continue to seek strategic collaborations enabling multi-dimensional advocacy strategies to support ongoing advocacy efforts that have sprung out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are committed to making TCA’s resources available to contribute to efforts that protect the health and safety of our community or advocate for permanent release and reform of the criminal legal system. We formed and continue to seek strategic collaborations enabling multi-dimensional advocacy strategies to support ongoing advocacy efforts that have sprung out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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One such project was Open Call for Clemency, a digital exhibition of visual artwork created by artists who are currently incarcerated and dealing with the deadly effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and unsanitary living conditions. The exhibition was capped by a series of virtual programming that brought together city officials, legal experts, local organizations, grassroots organizers, and more to testify to the power of arts to influence change as well as the urgent need for mass clemency in the name of public health.
TCA expanded its work to a national scale through a video project called The Viral Monologues: Covid and Incarceration. A partnership between TCA, advocates from the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign, Zealous, the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School, The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and the 24 Hour Plays, The Viral Monologues culminated in twelve filmed monologues based on first-hand accounts of those incarcerated and portrayed by professional actors. People who are currently incarcerated around the country and their family members were paired with professional writer and actors from television, film, and Broadway to share their stories. Presented alongside action steps to amplify the advocacy asks of each individual, the monologues raised awareness amongst the general public of the conditions of incarceration amidst the pandemic presented alongside action steps to amplify the advocacy asks of each individual. The project has since been adjusted and replicated in other cities as a part of the larger Hear Us project.
Ongoing projects include 132 Calls, an animated three-part short film series that details deadly conditions in Chicago’s Cook County Jail and one activist’s efforts to save her husband and fight for justice, and Claiming the Visual Narrative, a Newark-based mural project that invites community members and city officials to deepen relationships and counter historically harmful narratives through artistic collaboration.
TCA expanded its work to a national scale through a video project called The Viral Monologues: Covid and Incarceration. A partnership between TCA, advocates from the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign, Zealous, the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School, The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and the 24 Hour Plays, The Viral Monologues culminated in twelve filmed monologues based on first-hand accounts of those incarcerated and portrayed by professional actors. People who are currently incarcerated around the country and their family members were paired with professional writer and actors from television, film, and Broadway to share their stories. Presented alongside action steps to amplify the advocacy asks of each individual, the monologues raised awareness amongst the general public of the conditions of incarceration amidst the pandemic presented alongside action steps to amplify the advocacy asks of each individual. The project has since been adjusted and replicated in other cities as a part of the larger Hear Us project.
Ongoing projects include 132 Calls, an animated three-part short film series that details deadly conditions in Chicago’s Cook County Jail and one activist’s efforts to save her husband and fight for justice, and Claiming the Visual Narrative, a Newark-based mural project that invites community members and city officials to deepen relationships and counter historically harmful narratives through artistic collaboration.
THE POWER OF RESEARCH
TCA also conducts innovative research that is used to inform our advocacy-based projects. Previous studies have included the Label Impact Study, which explores how using stigmatized language affects how people dehumanize or humanize others; the Television Research project, that examines the use of dehumanizing labels and stereotypical representations of incarcerated individuals in popular television shows; and the Social Dynamics of Prison interview study, which explores how the experience of incarceration impacts how people form and maintain relationships post-incarceration.
In September of 2019, TCA also hosted the inaugural Justice Conference: The Power of Language to Incarcerate, where TCA presented original research from the Label Impact Study and the Television Research project, and brought together an interdisciplinary group of experts to discuss the importance of language in challenging stereotypes and stigma. TCA continues to use our research to push for humanizing language, and has recently partnered with the Securus Foundation to hold a Language Conference as part of their Language Campaign. At present, TCA is building off of findings from the Social Dynamics of Prison study to conduct research on new possibilities for mental health relief and healing from the effects of incarceration. In conjunction, TCA has been hosting digital forums to gather the knowledge of experts and perspectives of impacted communities to imagine possibilities for potential alternatives to the criminal legal system as it currently exists.
In September of 2019, TCA also hosted the inaugural Justice Conference: The Power of Language to Incarcerate, where TCA presented original research from the Label Impact Study and the Television Research project, and brought together an interdisciplinary group of experts to discuss the importance of language in challenging stereotypes and stigma. TCA continues to use our research to push for humanizing language, and has recently partnered with the Securus Foundation to hold a Language Conference as part of their Language Campaign. At present, TCA is building off of findings from the Social Dynamics of Prison study to conduct research on new possibilities for mental health relief and healing from the effects of incarceration. In conjunction, TCA has been hosting digital forums to gather the knowledge of experts and perspectives of impacted communities to imagine possibilities for potential alternatives to the criminal legal system as it currently exists.
