![Inter[SECTOR]: "Decarceration and the Arts" (Part II)](/storage_0/events/Media%20browser/intersector_-_decarceration_in_the_arts_part_2_-_emai_header_16-9.jpg)
The CAC is excited to present Inter[SECTOR], online conversations bringing together artists, activists, and policy-makers to discuss critical issues facing society today.
Inter[SECTOR] begins with Decarceration and the Arts, a four-part series with San Francisco-based artist Jo Kreiter, Artist Director of Flyaway Productions and creator of the "The Wait Room" that will be presented at the CAC in Spring 2021. In an effort to build community dialogue, Jo will engage with local activists and policy makers on the front lines of ending mass incarceration.
Decarceration and the Arts (Part II): Jo Kreiter and Ivy Mathis
Friday, May 15 at 5 pm CST on Facebook Live
Join us for our second conversation about Decarceration and the Arts featuring artist Jo Kreiter and Ivy Mathis, formerly-incarcerated activist with Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) as they discuss urgent efforts by VOTE to advocate for inmates' rights and safety, and how this is reflected in Jo Kreiter's performative work, "The Wait Room" coming to the CAC in Spring 2021. RSVP to our Facebook event to receive reminders about the livestream, below.
Watch the recording of this broadcast on Facebook
How You Can Help:
- Voices of the Experienced (VOTE-NOLA)
- Visit vote-nola.org.
- DONATE to VOTE to support their efforts
- CALL Governor John Bel Edwards with VOTE's call script
- SIGN VOTE's petition to the governor demanding action
- SHARE VOTE's efforts with your friends and family
Check out Part I and Part III of our "Decarceration and the Arts" series:
Part III with Ausettua Amor Amenkum and Kathy Randels
ABOUT JO KREITER
In 1996, Jo Kreiter founded Flyaway Productions, an apparatus-based dance company that advances social issues and explores the range and power of female physicality. Under Kreiter’s artistic direction, Flyaway creates dances on architectural and fabricated steel objects raised off the ground, with dancers suspended from two to 100 feet in the air. Kreiter/Flyaway are recipients of four Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, as well as awards from institutions like the Center for Cultural Innovation, the California Arts Council and the Creative Work Fund. In the book Moving Sites: Investigating Site-Specific Dance Performances (Routledge, 2015), Kreiter’s work is referenced as an example of “the politically-driven work of the experienced and prolific site dance artists.” Her work, "The Wait Room," is a dance performance installation that exposes the physical, psychic, and emotional burden of incarceration for women with imprisoned loved ones. Via a series of custom-made chairs suspended by a counterweight system, the project invokes the balancing act women have to maintain when stripped of emotional and economic support from their partners and family. Learn more at flyawayproductions.com
ABOUT IVY MATHIS
Going to prison at the age of 17 was something that Ivy never imagined would have happened to her. But once there, she chose to educate herself and get involved in programs that would steer her on a better path. After receiving her G.E.D., she became a member of Toastmasters and held many positions in this club. This and more helped her to develop leadership skills and enhance her innate gifts. Ivy is a graduate of culinary arts and drama programs. She was valedictorian of the School of Righteousness. While in prison, she served as a dance instructor, sound tech, and one of the few event organizers for the institution. When Judge Trudy White arranged trips for incarcerated women to go into schools and tell children what led to them being there, Ivy was one of the speakers. On December 11, 2018, after 26 years of a life sentence that she received as a teenager, Ivy was released from prison. Her freedom was the direct result of many years of formerly incarcerated leaders organizing against juvenile life sentences. She was the first woman pardoned in Louisiana under these new laws. Now Ivy joins our Baton Rouge team as the Chapter Organizer. She describes being a part of VOTE as an honor that heightens her ability to continue fighting for those left behind and being a voice for formerly incarcerated women.