Creative Acts

Creative Acts uses the power of the Arts and technology to heal trauma, build community, raise power, and center the voices of those impacted by incarceration. We do this by training a group of returned citizens in methods of trauma-informed council, theater, and VR to prepare them to build curriculum and lead as teaching artists. This grant will support the expansion of our VR ReEntry Program, offering access to tech and creative employment for current and future Alumni Lab members and mental health programming for our partners on the inside.

Art Attacks! has served as an artistic container for incarcerated youth to discover the value of their voice and the importance of civic engagement through the power of the arts. With the support of LA2050 Creative Acts will be able to expand its impact by bringing cutting edge VR programming into juvenile probation camps and halls throughout Los Angeles County to reduce the rate of re-offense, support the unpacking and healing from the traumas of incarceration, and break barriers using arts and tech to disrupt the school to prison pipeline.

Art Attacks! has served as an artistic container for incarcerated youth to discover the value of their voice and the importance of civic engagement through the power of the arts. We use community art projects, theater, spoken word and poetry to engage and inspire participants to change the narrative about who they are and their impact on society. With the support of LA2050, we hope to expand our reach, include VR technology in the curriculum and continue efforts to help youth unpack and heal from the trauma of being incarcerated.

Our Art Attacks! Program is designed to civically engage incarcerated youth through play. Using visual art, music, and theatre games, participants learn the value of their voice and their vote in local community organizing and engagement. They also forge relationships with students from the March For Our Lives anti-gun violence organization and those with lived experience of incarceration to make real change together in their communities as they return from prison. In 2020, 100% of our eligible students voted in the Presidential election!

Creative Acts’ Art Attacks program teaches incarcerated young people the value of their voice and the importance of participating in civic engagement through voting, and connecting with and finding leadership roles in organizations that are affecting change in their communities. We use community drawn art, spoken word poetry and other artistic endeavors to engage and inspire incarcerated youth to change their narratives about who they are and the impact they have. Our pilot program showed an 86% rise in voting for participants and facilitated deep connections between our incarcerated youth and the organization March for Our Lives.