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美国国家公共电台 NPR--'Imagining Freedom' will give $125 million to art projects focused on incarceration

时间:2023-11-09 02:31来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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'Imagining Freedom' will give $125 million to art projects focused on incarceration2

Transcript3

Making and sharing art is powerful — and maybe even more so for people who are incarcerated4. That's the premise5 behind a huge new initiative from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which is pledging $125 million to arts and humanities organizations that focus on mass incarceration.

In 1991 in Ohio, Dean Gillespie was convicted and then imprisoned6 for 20 years for crimes that he was later found not to have committed. While he was incarcerated, he kept his sanity7 by creating miniature sculptures out of things he scavenged from around the prison. He created whimsical bits of Americana from stuff like the foil from packages of cigarettes, used tea bags and pins from the prison sewing room.

Some of Gillespie's miniatures became part of a project called Marking Time, which presents visual artwork made by both currently and formerly8 incarcerated artists as well as other artists whose work responds to the carceral system.

Nicole Fleetwood, a professor at New York University and a MacArthur "genius" grant winner, is the curator and author behind Marking Time, which made its debut9 as an exhibition. She explains how Gillespie reclaimed10 his sense of time — and held onto his sense of self — through making his art.

"He would think in advance, 'It's going to take me three months to make a little miniature camper. It's going to take me six months to make this dinette,'" she explains. "It was a way for him to feel like he was managing the time that the state had placed upon him as punishment for a crime he didn't commit."

Fleetwood says that the genesis of this project, which encompasses11 both a book and a visual art exhibition that has been crisscrossing the country since its debut at MoMA PS1 in New York, began with her own lived experience of visiting relatives incarcerated in Ohio.

"I would notice that in many of the visiting rooms of prisons, there would be these makeshift galleries where art would be on view," she recalls. "Also, there were small provisional photo studios in the visiting room where incarcerated people could take pictures with their loved ones."

"Being a scholar of visual culture and art," Fleetwood continues, "I got really curious about the visual culture and art-making worlds of people in prison — and how art-making and creativity could be ways of envisioning freedom, envisioning the future, or staying connected with loved ones and building community inside prison."

Marking Time is just one of the arts and humanities projects being funded by the Mellon Foundation. Mellon notes that nearly half of all Americans have a relative who's been imprisoned, meaning that the organizations it funds could reach a huge swath of people in this country. That's especially true in communities of color, who feel the overwhelming impact of mass incarceration.

Since 2020, Mellon has already granted some $40 million to this effort, which it's calling Imagining Freedom.

The four newest Imagining Freedom grantees are The Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network, which promotes the education of people formerly imprisoned; the Flashlights Project from The Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative, which is a public digital archive chronicling the experiences of incarcerated justice advocates; several storytelling, publishing and arts-based initiatives at Interrupting Criminalization; and the group Study and Struggle, which organizes political education, study groups and mutual12 aid.

In all, Mellon says it will grant $125 million to this work. One fundamental question has driven Mellon here, says the foundation's president, celebrated13 poet Elizabeth Alexander.

"How do we understand our society, that is, one where we don't 'other' people and forget about them, where we don't dehumanize people and say that they don't deserve some of the same basic human rights?" she asks. "The right to learn, the right to dream, the right to seek knowledge, the right to imagine."

Fleetwood says that bridging those gaps between incarcerated and non-incarcerated artists is important to her project. Instead, she says, such artists should be understood in parity14 with each other.

She uses the example of artist Tameca Cole, from Birmingham, Ala. While imprisoned, Fleetwood says, Cole "created this really incredible graphite collage15 called 'Locked in Dark Calm.'"

"It received a lot of attention and praise as a signature piece in Marking Time," Fleetwood says. "Tameca made that work and donated it to a nonprofit called Die Jim Crow that then auctioned16 it as part of a fundraiser. She had no idea what happened to that artwork. It actually is really important piece of work that she made during a very difficult time during her imprisonment17."

Marking Time was eventually able to connect Cole to the person who bought her work — and that person was willing to give it back to Cole. "Locked in Dark Calm," Fleetwood notes, is now in the collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Fleetwood says that the support of Mellon and other philanthropic organizations reflects a turning point in broader awareness18 of the issues surrounding mass incarceration in the United States.

"It does feel like a seismic19 shift in terms of broader public awareness and getting the resources to really do the work, both on the research level, but also really in terms of direct impact, helping20 people get out of prison," she says.

Fleetwood points to another Marking Time artist, Ndume Olatushani, as an example of that relationship. Olatushani was in prison for 28 years, and on death row for nearly 20 of those years, for a crime he didn't commit. The sentence was for the 1983 murder of a grocery store owner in Memphis, Tenn. — a state that Olatushani says he had never visited.

"He started painting [in prison], and would donate his paintings to anti-death penalty activism," Fleetwood continues. "It was through making art, and connecting with activists21, that he was able to actually end up free — through many, many years of lawyers working pro1 bono to help get him out." The sentence was overturned in Dec. 2011, and Olatushani was freed the following June.

Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander points out that the range of grantees for Imagining Freedom is vast — ranging from larger, well-established organizations to smaller, grassroots efforts.

"We have Dwayne Betts and his Freedom Reads initiative. This project is an early one in this initiative and a grant very, very, very dear to my heart," Alexander says, pointing out that Betts, a Guggenheim fellow and another MacArthur "genius" winner, has studied poetry with her.

"He's a poet," she continues. "He's a lawyer. He was incarcerated at the age of 16, was put in solitary22 confinement23, where while there someone slid a book underneath24 the door, a book of poetry. That began his journey to imagining possibilities and devoting himself to words. And this grant will put beautifully chosen, 500-book libraries in every single prison in this country."

Alexander says that the arts and culture have what she calls a superpower: to convey these stories, to build connections, to create understanding, and to encourage discernment and critical thinking. She hopes that other people — both on the inside and out — will be similarly inspired.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pro tk3zvX     
n.赞成,赞成的意见,赞成者
参考例句:
  • The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
  • Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军?
2 incarceration 2124a73d7762f1d5ab9ecba1514624b1     
n.监禁,禁闭;钳闭
参考例句:
  • He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中,他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
  • Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你,请你将这颗心释放出来吧!否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句
3 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
4 incarcerated 6f3f447e42a1b3e317e14328c8068bd1     
钳闭的
参考例句:
  • They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间,他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
  • I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白
5 premise JtYyy     
n.前提;v.提论,预述
参考例句:
  • Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
  • We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。
6 imprisoned bc7d0bcdd0951055b819cfd008ef0d8d     
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁,合并执行。
  • They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。
7 sanity sCwzH     
n.心智健全,神智正常,判断正确
参考例句:
  • I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
  • She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
8 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
9 debut IxGxy     
n.首次演出,初次露面
参考例句:
  • That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里,他初次在百老汇登台,扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
  • The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。
10 reclaimed d131e8b354aef51857c9c380c825a4c9     
adj.再生的;翻造的;收复的;回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救
参考例句:
  • Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 encompasses cba8673f835839b92e7b81ba5bccacfb     
v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 );包围;包含;包括
参考例句:
  • The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
  • Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句
12 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
13 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
14 parity 34mzS     
n.平价,等价,比价,对等
参考例句:
  • The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
  • Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。
15 collage XWYyD     
n.拼贴画;v.拼贴;把……创作成拼贴画
参考例句:
  • A collage of coloured paper covers a table top.一副彩纸拼贴画盖在桌面上。
  • He has used a mixture of mosaic,collage and felt-tip pen.他混合使用了马赛克、拼贴画和毡头笔。
16 auctioned 1a9ab53832945db108ff2919e21fccc6     
v.拍卖( auction的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • It was sad to see all grandmother's lovely things being auctioned off. 眼看着祖母那些可爱的东西全都被拍卖掉,心里真不好受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 imprisonment I9Uxk     
n.关押,监禁,坐牢
参考例句:
  • His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
  • He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。
18 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
19 seismic SskyM     
a.地震的,地震强度的
参考例句:
  • Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
  • The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。
20 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
21 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 solitary 7FUyx     
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
  • I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
  • The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
23 confinement qpOze     
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限
参考例句:
  • He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
  • The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。
24 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
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