From STEM to STEAM | James Torres | TEDxSingSing 2020
For years, the importance of arts programs in public education has been the subject of debate, but James Torres thinks he’s solved the problem once and for all. In his impassioned presentation, James describes how being exposed to music while incarcerated gave him a new purpose, a new passion, and a new career path. He advocates that the all-important STEM programs that we know and value should be edited just slightly to include art and be forever known as STEAM programs. James Torres participates in Sing Sing’s Carnegie Hall music program. James taught himself music, which he used as a form of therapy to get through hard times. Today, his compositions have been played at Carnegie Hall, and his writings have been published on the online publishing platform The Medium, and the online magazine The Margins. He is currently working with the Jeptha Group, a not-for-profit organization that uses music therapy to help inmate populations that struggle with mental illness.
My prison paintings began with PAIN | Philip Glaser | TEDxAttica 2019
At one of the lowest moments of his life while in jail awaiting trial, Philip Glaser began to draw. During his incarceration at Attica, Phil learned the value of art as therapy and perhaps even as a chance at redemption. See how art changed Phil's life, making him a better person and even reuniting him with his lost love. Phil never expected incarceration would give him a second chance for a life worth living and happiness. After arriving at Attica, he became an accomplished artist/designer and has created numerous murals throughout the facility. His painting "Art, In Cell Window Perspective" received the Best Donated Work award for the Crime Victims Fund Exhibition and was chosen for the prestigious 1990 Rochester Finger Lakes Exhibition. In 2013, he started the Attica Active Veterans Group’s Kite Artwork Team and its Knitting Squad. Phil is grateful to be able to use his God-given talents to lift people's spirits and raise funds for community causes. He is an Eagle Scout and received an Honorable discharge after serving seven years in the U.S. Coast Guard as a 1st Class Damage Controlman. Phil just celebrated his 25th anniversary with his wife, Kathy, who with her Master's Degree in art and theater is a perfect companion for him and his many art projects.
One last cry | Joseph Norman | TEDxSingSing 2020
We don’t often think about a prison as being the birthplace of art, but Joseph Norman is here to say otherwise. As a currently incarcerated poet, Joseph channels his energy into creating and sharing stories, poems, and songs about his life and his lived experiences. In “One Last Cry,” Joseph speaks about friendship, brotherhood, and fatherhood behind prison walls. Growing up in North Carolina, Joseph was made fun of and called names. He channeled his hurt from being picked on through writing poetry. Recently, Joseph completed five phases of the Alternative to Violence Project Workshop. He also completed nine months of Alcohol Substance Abuse Treatment and currently volunteers his free time to the program telling his story and assisting others with their sobriety. Joseph continues to write poetry focusing it on addiction, love, and fatherhood.
Art can save your life | Mario Torero | TEDxDonovanCorrectional 2017
As an “artivist,” Mario Torero is most known over the last forty-five years for an extensive body of socially conscious mural work produced in different cities throughout the United States and around the world. In his talk, Mario explores the local history of Chicano Park and the importance of reclaiming personal power through the creative, healing act of story-telling through art. "I call myself an 'artivist,' passionately devoted to bringing color and socially conscious messages to the walls of communities, especially marginalized neighborhoods that are in dire need of self-expression. Through muralism, I see myself in service of the People, striving in bringing unity and healing through color, art and meaning."
The story of the creative vision factory | Michael Kalmbach | TEDxWilmingtonSalon 2015
Michael Kalmbach has a serious passion for helping people in his community through art. He worked at the Delaware College of Art & Design, there he founded the New Wilmington Art Association, an organization that organized exhibitions of contemporary art in Wilmington’s vacant retail spaces. In 2011 Michael developed and opened the Creative Vision Factory in downtown Wilmington, which fosters the creative potential of individuals on the behavioral health spectrum in a studio art environment that cultivates integration with the local community through a program of exhibitions, workshops, and communal workspace.
The transformational power of art | Jane Golden | TEDxGraterfordStatePrison 2014
"Art has the power to ignite change and transformation,'' says Jane Golden, executive director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Golden believes art is a link to social change, lifting up commonality, the community and acts as a vehicle for reconciliation.
Art's healing power | Pamela Jacques | TEDxGraterfordStatePrison 2014
Pamela Jacques, Graterford state prison counselor and artist, shares her message of healing and hope in a unique and beautiful way. Jacques reminds us that all life is precious and worthwhile, regardless of problems and pain we experience.
The future of our arts | Johnson Le | TEDxIronwoodStatePrison 2014
Johnson Le loves everything about nature and spirituality. He believes that music has healing effects on the mind, body, and soul. Johnson is a self-taught guitarist and has written some of his own songs. He feels that peace and serenity are achievable through one's thoughts, and music has helped guide the way for him. He feels that creativity does not have to be developed but only enhanced; everyone has the potential for manifesting into their greater self. If everyone would try to reach their potential, we could live in a world where selfless acts were the cultural norm.
The artist mother | Suanne Goings | TEDxMarionCorrectional 2012
An artist speaks to her own loss and how she got through it in a piece titled "The Artist Mother."