The BackWall: Art Uncuffed explores the criminal justice system through the arts on April 9
Presented with Healing Broken Circles, the event blends music, performance and conversation.
The University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH) and College of Nursing are deepening the conversation around mass incarceration through the lenses of the arts and community-building.
The BackWall event is presented in partnership with nonprofit organization Healing Broken Circles, which provides opportunities for people touched by the justice system to heal, learn and thrive. The organization works to create new and unprecedented educational, artistic and transformative experiences through work steeped in the understanding that, in uplifting the voices, stories, talents, skills, expertise and purpose of people who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, we can promote equity, empathy and healthier communities for us all.
Join us for an evening of music, dance, stories and spoken word by artists deeply impacted by mass incarceration. The BackWall performers have experienced incarceration firsthand or are from communities most deeply impacted by mass incarceration.
Event Details
When: Tuesday, April 9, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Where: TUC’s MainStreet Cinema, Room 2766
Featured Performers
Image of Draye Mitchell courtesy of Healing Broken Circles.
Draye Mitchell: Andrea Draye Mitchell is a singer/songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio, who has been singing her entire life and hopes to change people's hearts and minds with her voice.
Image of Coach Poo provided by Healing Broken Circles.
Image of Zerious Business courtesy of Healing Broken Circles
Zerious Business: From Columbus, Ohio, Montez Mickens (aka Zerious Business) takes a new and innovative approach to music, blending hip-hop and R&B to feed the souls of those who crave good artistry.
Image of Blakk Sun courtesy of Healing Broken Circles
Blakk Sun: Michael Powell is the director of creative and youth programming at Healing Broken Circles as well as a musician, poet, actor, writer, speaker and influencer.
Image of Tronee Threat courtesy of Healing Broken Circles
Tronee Threat: Guy Tron Banks, aka Tronee Threat, is an Ohio-born-and-raised musical artist, filmmaker, scriptwriter, producer, fitness coach and public speaker hailing from Yellow Springs. His journey began during an 11-and-a-half-year period of incarceration, where he discovered his passion for public speaking.
The event is open to all. Learn more and RSVP at Healing Broken Circles' Eventbrite page for the presentation.
About the Presentation
The Art Uncuffed presentation is made possible by funds from the Provost Office’s faculty award. Each year, the Office of the Provost allocates $80,000 to support team-based faculty development projects.
The BackWall event was part of an award-winning proposal entitled “Disability, Accessibility, and Inclusion: An Innovative Health-Justice Collaboration and Analysis." This project seeks to advance inclusive health-justice partnerships among criminal justice and health scholars and proposes to collaboratively break boundaries to cultivate learning and create what’s next for incarcerated individuals with disabilities. The proposal was conceived by the project team of:
- Brittany Hayes, PhD (Associate Professor, CECH School of Criminal Justice): Hayes' research centers on the correlates, consequences and responses to victimization particularly among marginalized populations. Recent work has examined the consequences of victimization and reporting experiences among victims with disabilities. Outside her research, she advocates for inclusion in local schools.
- Samantha Boch, PhD (Assistant Professor, College of Nursing): A forensic nurse scientist with a clinical background in corrections nursing. Boch has been collaborating, volunteering or working with or in carceral settings since 2012. Most recently she had worked on a Department of Justice-funded program dedicated to incarcerated fathers and their children with Healing Broken Circles.
- Myrinda Schweitzer Smith, PhD (Executive Director, UC Corrections Institute): Smith has co-presented nationally and internationally on effective interventions, and served as a project director for over 300 projects involving program evaluation; the development and implementation of cognitive-behavioral programs for criminality, substance abuse, employment and sexual offending; and effective practices for community supervision and support. She serves and participates on advisory boards and professional organizations supporting the health and wellbeing of those working in and those impacted by the justice system. She is actively engaged in several projects that aim to transform juvenile justice and reentry practices to positively shape lives and create safer communities.
Next Lives Here
Next Lives Here, the University of Cincinnati’s strategic direction, defines our moment and our momentum. More nimble and more robust than a plan, Next Lives Here announces our vision to the world – to lead urban public universities into a new era of innovation, impact, and inclusion.
Featured image at top: The BackWall: Art Uncuffed presented by University of Cincinnati and Healing Broken Circles. Photo/provided.
Related Stories
The BackWall: Art Uncuffed explores the criminal justice system through the arts on April 9
March 12, 2024
The University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH) and College of Nursing are deepening the conversation around mass incarceration through the lenses of the arts and community-building with The BackWall: Art Uncuffed, an April 9 event presented in partnership with Healing Broken Circles at the TUC Main Street Cinema.