ESCAPE ROUTE – FRIDAY NOV.12, 6-10PM
Escape Route:
A Multimedia Immersion Into the Hearts and Minds of Incarcerated Youth
This will be the first comprehensive assemblage of the diverse artwork of youth incarcerated in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center outside of the center. Featured in this show will be publications, recordings, murals, digital images, posters, and ceramics produced by Free Write students.
Free Write Jail Arts & Literacy Program
The Free Write Jail Arts and Literacy Program at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center serves Illinois’ most vulnerable children. Our students are between the ages of 10 and 19 years and are awaiting trial, awaiting sentencing, or serving time in jail. We have students who, at age 16, read at a first-grade level. We also have students who stay up late at night, secretly composing poems on their cots. Students bring us autobiographies written on loose-leaf paper and poetry hidden in shoes and socks for privacy. Each of our students has a unique and powerful story to tell. We believe that each of our students can become functionally literate, and many can become highly proficient as the narrators of their own stories and authors of their own futures. Literacy, creative self-expression and an understanding of their own social and cultural surroundings are key to overcoming the weighty obstacles each of these young people face.
At present, there is very little arts education available to youth in detention. Most youth in the CCJTDC receive no arts opportunities at all while serving time. Boredom and lack of engaging recreational and artistic activities can lead to negative outcomes. With the support of the Chicago Community Trust, FreeWrite Jail Arts and Literacy Program seeks to continue to develop and refine the newly launched program in ceramics and visual art. In addition, FreeWrite will use this support to further develop our creative writing program, bringing in a regular teaching artists who will lead workshops in poetry and memoir writing.
At the close of the 2009-2010 school years, we received a lot of positive feedback from our students.
Here are a few of their reflections:
“What I like about Free Write is it is a space where I can work on my talents, and they have special things for people like me in a place called jail. But I would be happier if they got more computers and a bigger room so more people can work on their projects.” –Pierre M.
“I like this program because it gives you a chance to express yourself and let other people understand how you feel. I wouldn’t change anything.” –Chaka R.
“The reason why I like this program is because I can get my books published. If I could change one thing it would be to get more computers in and have more time in here.” –David J.
“I like Free Write because it helps me get used to doing things with other people and take away my shyness. It makes me feel good around others than before. It helps me to do some things that I like and get away from people who get me into trouble.”
-Anthony H.