march 2019
FREE
by Christine Lake Many people have been taught from a young age to live by “The Golden Rule”: treat others as you would want to be treated. In some cases, however, that seemingly simple directive gets mired in difficulty. When the “other” in question is incarcerated, how does that change people’s perceptions? An art exhibition at The Banana Factory this month focuses on that question and aims to create dialogue around the humanity of those in prison. The exhibition, titled “Hope in Hard Times: Prisoners’ Art for Social Justice”, opened at The Banana Factory’s Banko Gallery in South Bethlehem on March 1. It is a joint project between Art for Justice, the Moravian Church’s Eastern District and the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem. The artwork itself is available for viewing anytime during the Banana Factory’s hours, and there are several lectures, presentations and special events planned throughout the exhibition’s run which ends on Sunday, April 7. The works in the show are all curated by Art for Justice, a non-profit organization based in Montgomery County, PA that began as a project in 1997. Co-founder and Artistic Director Ann Marie Kirk has a family history that is deeply rooted in both social justice activism and artistic ability and appreciation. In 1995, Kirk attended an art exhibit that was fundraising for the art department at a neighborhood high school featuring local artists, including some of the prisoners at then Graterford Prison (which closed in July 2018 and became SCI Phoenix). “I was really moved by the exhibition, and I bought one of the works,” Kirk remembers. “I wrote to the artist, Charles Lawson, to thank him and to tell him how meaningful the piece was to me.” Their correspondence continued following that first letter and over time they co-founded Art for Justice, an organization with a mission to support and exhibit prisoner art to promote public dialogue on ways to prevent crime, reduce levels of incarceration, bring awareness to systemic flaws in the criminal justice system, and seek solutions to eliminate injustice. Criminal justice reform is a hot topic these days, and it can lead to a lot of narrow-minded attitudes. The main focus of Art for Justice is to use art to open people’s minds. “Art brings people together and allows them to consider more possibilities,” Kirk explains. “We understand that criminal justice reform is a complex issue. It’s certainly not about sanctioning crime, but at the same time we must consider if we have a system of justice that honors all people.” The issues of wrongful conviction and the detrimental effect of mass incarceration on our communities definitely suggest that our current system of justice is not working as intended. These are problems that affect everyone, society-wide, even if it may not seem like it. “It’s hard for the average person to visit a prison and to engage with the incarcerated, to learn about needed reforms,” says Reverend Janel Rice, Pastor at Calvary Moravian Church in Allentown. During a meeting of Moravian churches along the East Coast and Ohio about two years ago, the question asked was “If God asks us to love our neighbor, who is that neighbor?” Further discussion on the topic led to a refinement of the idea to gaining an understanding of the needs of the incarcerated in questions of justice, dehumanization and the needs for reform. Art for Justice was seen
“Aspirations 2” by Daniel Gwynn. courtesy of Art for Justice
as the perfect partner because of their mission and a similar philosophy. “It’s not that we’re trying to do away with prisons,” Rice says. “But we need to work within and beyond our criminal justice system on reforms that benefit everyone. We need to bring more hope into the prison system.” In addition to the exhibition itself, there are presentations, lectures and events that tie into the Art for Justice mission and the Church’s outreach efforts. On Tuesday, March 19 at 7 PM at Prosser Auditorium on Moravian College’s campus, speaker Tyrone Werts will present the Couillard Lecture with the same title as the exhibition. Werts was convicted in 1974 of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life without parole. He spent 37 years at Graterford before having his sentence commuted to life on parole by Governor Ed Rendell. Werts will speak about the role of education and the arts in prison and the concepts of hope, justice, legacy and change. On Sunday, March 24 from 2-4 PM at the Banana Factory, a vigil for Hope in the Criminal Justice System will be held, featuring keynote speaker Chester Hollman, Jr. who will tell the story of his son Chester Hollman III’s wrongful conviction and sentence of life without parole. The final event is First Friday on April 5 from 6-9 PM which will feature a free open house with presentations, continued on page 3
THE ART OF WELLNESS by Christine Lake As modern life gets more hectic, a new focus has come to mindfulness techniques and more natural ways of finding healing and wellness. A new event by smARTivities Showcase in downtown Easton, PA aims to foster the relationship between wellness and art. smARTivities Showcase created the Wellness Healing Arts Fair to promote services that will be offered on-site to support overall well being. Services include healing sessions, meditation exercises, herbal wellness, and therapeutic creative activities. “smARTivities is committed to providing services and art education that support creative self expression. There is a connection between making art and creative thinking that encourages individuals to freely express themselves which leads to stress relief and an overall healthy lifestyle,” expresses founder/owner April Khalil. The first smARTivities Wellness Healing Arts Fair will take place at smARTivities March 22 through March 24. ‘Lady’ Colleen Heller Alrefai, a former organizer of the Riverside Arts Festival and current marketing and events director at smARTivities Showcase, organized the event as a way to have a variety of healing arts all together in an indoor space. She has been a practitioner of energetic medicine, or what some term “alternative medicine” since the late ‘70s. A naturopath, Lady recognizes that the body has an inherent self-healing process, but that people can sometimes use a little assistance to facilitate that process. “I think all healing has a mind over matter component,” Lady says. “Positive attitude wins the race. There are so many ways the body wants to heal itself.” Once considered the realm of health nuts or “tree hugging hippies”, many of the principles of naturopathic medicine have been recently backed up by science. Creating art enhances self-esteem and helps to relieve stress by taking the mind off problems. The creation process also becomes an outlet for emotions which may otherwise remain unresolved. Studies have shown that making visual art helped patients focus on positive life experiences, and that being surrounded by visual art helped patients to experience less pain. Other forms of artistic expression, like dance and movement, work because they turn off the thinking mind and help you to remain grounded in the present moment. “Alternative healing is not a belief system, and it’s not a religion,” Lady explains. “These techniques are proven, and some have been used for centuries. We’re all educated practitioners.” Lady herself is a Certified Hypnotherapist, a Licensed Massage Therapist, a Master Herbalist, and a Reiki Master. She is the owner and founder of two healing and teaching wellness centers: 99 Steps C.A.M. Healing Center in Egypt, and Sinai Energetics Education of Distinction with call 610-258-4330 to advertise
Artist Profile page 8
Hands-on art creation will be a feature of the first smARTivities Wellness Healing Arts Fair including (clockwise from left to right) Macramé Mandalas, Mosaic Elementals, Glass Fusion, and Color Harmony Painting. images courtesy of smARTivities Showcase
branches in Cairo and Nuweiba in Egypt, New York City and Easton in the United States. She is also a visual artist who specializes in painting, and an art appreciator of all kinds. “As artists, we’re passionate about creating,” she remarks. “Helping someone to recreate their health definitely falls into that passion.”
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March 2019
The Irregular
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