About Wave Farm
Arts in Corrections NYS Session II Workshops Announced. Wave Farm in Partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYS DOCCS)
New York State Council on the Arts and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Partner to Launch Innovative Arts in Corrections NYS Program
Wave Farm, a New York Based Non-Profit, Will Facilitate 12-Week Workshops Across 10 Facilities
Program to Serve Nearly 1000 Individuals Over 2 Years
The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYS DOCCS) are pleased to announce the grantees and workshops for the 2023 summer sessions of Arts in Corrections NYS, a program to facilitate and support arts programming inside nine NYS DOCCS facilities and one Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) facility located across New York State. A regrant program of NYSCA, Arts in Corrections is facilitated by Wave Farm, a nonprofit New York State arts organization, working closely with DOCCS.
Arts in Corrections NYS supports non-profit arts organizations, in partnership with visiting artists, to design and facilitate a series of 12-week, in-person workshops, providing system-impacted individuals with once-a-week programming in a variety of disciplines including the visual arts, electronic media/film, music, and literature.
Following each session, selected workshops repeat to serve a new group of individuals, continuing through 2024. Successfully piloted between 2019 and 2021 as CreativityWorksNYS, the initial program provided positive data and feedback about the value of arts in changing the participants’ attitudes, emotional management, and intellectual flexibility.
“On behalf of NYSCA, I am delighted that this innovative program has been expanded to 10 facilities across New York State. Through engagement with the arts, participants develop individualized skills and resources that directly benefit themselves and their communities,” said Mara Manus, Executive Director of NYSCA. “We are immensely grateful for the work of Wave Farm and DOCCS on this strategic initiative.”
NYS DOCCS Acting Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said, “The Department is committed to expanding meaningful programming that offers rehabilitative and therapeutic benefits to the incarcerated population. For years we have seen the effects of the Arts in Corrections NYS workshops firsthand, both allowing incarcerated individuals to explore new creative disciplines, as well as express themselves artistically. We are grateful to continue this partnership with NYSCA and to expand the reach of Arts in Corrections NYS through 2024.”
“We are honored to facilitate this important program, and couldn’t be more excited about the quality of the workshops. It has been a pleasure to work closely with NYS DOCCS on this initiative. Arts in Corrections NYS wouldn’t be possible without the remarkable support of NYS DOCCS staff, the organizational grantees, and the talented visiting artists involved, and we are grateful.” Said Galen Joseph-Hunter, Wave Farm Executive Director.
Over the course of these artist-taught workshops, participants will have the opportunity to deepen artistic exploration and engage in a variety of creative disciplines. The workshops will provide education, training, and positive constructive criticism for each participant’s artistic endeavors.
Additional support for Arts in Corrections NYS has been provided by Dorothy Lichtenstein in honor of Agnes Gund.
Arts in Corrections NYS Summer 2023 Grantees and Workshops:
The Art Effect of the Hudson Valley (Dutchess County) — Music and Video Production, with Adam and Zach Reid
(Otisville Correctional Facility)
In this workshop, participants will write original songs and lyrics, record and produce the songs,
and then create music videos for their songs. Participants will gain experience in songwriting,
audio recording, lyrics writing, music selection, audio mixing, wordplay, and creativity, and
conveying ideas through music. Participants will additionally gain introductory skills in video
production and video editing.
Bardavon 1869 Opera House (Dutchess County) — Mixed-Level Poetry Writing, with Gretchen Primack
(Ulster Correctional Facility)
In this workshop, participants will explore their creativity through poetry. Each class will include a
warm-up exercise and close reading of various published poems to see how they work.
Participants will write, critique, and revise their own poems.
CREATE Council on the Arts (Greene County) — Personal Storytelling: What’s Your Story?, with Caitlin Langstaff and Christina Thyssen
(Green Haven Correctional Facility)
In this workshop, participants will discover the craft of writing and sharing a compelling story.
Storytelling will be celebrated and practiced as a way to build community and help make sense of
the world we live in. Participants will learn public speaking techniques, acquire skills to craft
compelling narratives, and perform stories with ease and authenticity.
The Flow Chart Foundation (Columbia County) — Moving Potential / Body Stories, with Sondra Loring
(Greene Correctional Facility)
In this workshop, participants will engage in a range of movement based practices including performance, dance, and choreographic disciplines that utilize strength, mobility, and flexibility training for empowerment. Participants will tap into their own body stories with dance and theater and writing exercises to gain an understanding of improvisational and collective performance techniques.
Great Lakes Guitar Society (Onondaga County) — One Mic Project, with Chris Cresswell (Mohawk Correctional
Facility)
In this workshop, participants will learn and practice the basics of songwriting and music
production, gaining the foundation to create their own lyrics and music. Introductions to
songwriting and musical composition will provide participants with the skills to experiment with
both group and individual creative musical production.
Justice Juvenile Arts and Media Network (Dutchess County) — Art Practices on the Edge of
Possibilities, with Maggie Hazen and Eliza Doyle (Shawangunk Correctional Facility)
This sculpture workshop will introduce participants to the fundamentals of constructing 2-
dimensional and 3-dimensional works of art using unconventional resources and mediums.
Participants will work with an assortment of materials using unique techniques, traditions, and
methods. Participants will produce creative artworks, build an artistic portfolio, develop their
personal artistic practice, and learn new creative strategies and concepts.
Rochester Contemporary Art Center (Monroe County) — Framing Freedom, with Ya’qub Shabazz (OCFS
MacCormick Secure Center)
Framing Freedom will introduce participants to elements of art history, color theory, painting and
drawing techniques, interpreting fine art, and mindfulness. Participants will learn how to create
visual art and discuss their work with their peers. The workshop will introduce materials including
watercolors, pastels, and acrylic paint for themed weekly sessions.
Shandaken Projects (New York County) — Art and Autobiography, with Nicholas Weist (Sullivan Correctional
Facility)
In this course, participants will learn creative communication skills including drawing, painting,
printmaking, personal writing, and bookmaking. During class time and in short homework
assignments, participants will use these skills to tell their own stories in narrative, figurative, and
abstract ways. The workshop will conclude with a final project by each participant that
demonstrates his new skills and tells his own story in a unique way.
The Thrive Project (Franklin County) — Circle Drumming, with Chris Bohl (Franklin Correctional Facility)
In this workshop, Participants will explore a range of circle drumming techniques and a variety of
drums. The workshop will introduce circle drumming structures, histories, and improvisational
exercises. A drum circle is an instant rhythm experience for all ages and abilities – no musical
experience required.
The Thrive Project (Franklin County) — The Self-Portrait and Identity, with Geoff Cobb (Bare Hill Correctional
Facility)
Over the course of this workshop, participants will acquire introductory skills and experience with
drawing self-portraits. Participants will discuss and analyze contemporary and historical selfportraits
and will consider the style, emotional impact, and technique of these portraits.
Participants will create their own self-portraits using introductory and intermediate art techniques
and principles, creating a final artwork that will be presented in the last session.
About the New York State Council on the Arts
The Council on the Arts preserves and advances the arts and culture that make New York State
an exceptional place to live, work and visit. The Council upholds the right of all New Yorkers to
experience the vital contributions the arts make to our communities, education, economic
development, and quality of life. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York
State, the Council on the Arts will award record funding in FY 2023, providing support across
the full breadth of the arts, including dedicated support for arts education and underrepresented
communities.
The Council on the Arts further advances New York's creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit http:// www.arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA's Facebook page, Twitter @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.
About NYS DOCCS
DOCCS’ mission is to improve public safety by providing a continuity of appropriate
treatment services in safe and secure facilities where the needs of the incarcerated
population are addressed and where individuals under its' custody are successfully
prepared for release and parolees under community supervision receive supportive
services that facilitate the successful completion of their sentence. DOCCS recognizes the
therapeutic value of offering arts-based programming to individuals in enhancing communication
skills, supporting healthy forms of expression and increasing self-awareness. DOCCS’ vision is
to enhance public safety by having incarcerated persons return home under supportive
supervision less likely to revert to criminal behavior. By affording individuals the opportunity to
participate in creative and expressive programming, DOCCS is seeking to enrich the
incarceration experience and bolster the success rates of those returning to the community.
About Wave Farm
Wave Farm is an international transmission arts organization driven by experimentation with the electromagnetic spectrum. We cultivate creative practices in radio and support artists and nonprofits in their cultural endeavors.
Based in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley, Wave Farm is a media arts center, media platform, and arts service organization. Wave Farm offers interdisciplinary outdoor installations, residencies and fellowships, and a research library. We operate FM radio station WGXC and host many online radio channels. Wave Farm provides fiscal sponsorship, consultation, and grants to artists and organizations. For more information, please visit wavefarm.org For more information about Arts in Corrections NYS, visit https://wavefarm.org/grants-services/nysca-regrants/arts-in-corrections-nys