Basu: Art helps kids #KnowJustice
The paintings are raw, indignant, some so bold and sprawling, they almost spill over beyond the canvas — much as their young creators push back against their own confines: The courts, shelters, foster homes, group homes and just plain inhospitable homes. They are 13-to-19-year-olds caught up in the juvenile justice system for drugs, theft or some kind of violence. But through a four-year-old outreach organization called Art Force Iowa, they've been learning to hone their skills in art, music and poetry, both to express themselves constructively and to connect their life experiences to a larger understanding of society.
“Down here it seems dark a lot, when it’s easier to find a gun than a FX@*ING parking spot,” reads a message in block letters over smaller messages on a canvas of black and white. “This is so tragic, I wish I was magic so I could be at peace.”
The Creative Pathways program uses artist mentors and staff to work with the youth. This Thursday, you’ll have a chance to see and hear the results, when Art Force throws an unusual fundraiser in collaboration with Drake Law School and Polk County Juvenile Detention. Called #KnowJustice, it will include an art exhibit, live music, poetry, food and drinks and a silent auction. Besides raising money for the program, the goal is give people a glimpse into the kids' lives and challenges.
Some have mental illnesses. Nine in 10 have had multiple adverse childhood experiences, according to Art Force Executive Director John-Mark Feilmeyer. Most are of low income. “Some parents are honestly worried about their kids, and some parents are the problem,” he said. They're the ones who might call the cops on their kids because they don’t know how to handle them.
One 17-year-old boy didn’t come at first, Feilmeyer says. He distrusted the instructors. When Art Force went to his home to check on him, he cursed them out for coming. When he did arrive at the basement studio at Southwest Fifth Street, he didn’t talk. But he did make art, which blossomed into large canvases with bold social messages after he began working with local artist Saulaman Schlegel.
“Saulaman is like a God to him,” Feilmeyer said. The kid was back in jail briefly, but got out and graduated high school.
Schlegel and Jordan Weber, another local artist who has worked with minority youth at Polk County Juvenile Detention Center, curated the #KnowJustice exhibit. Students from Drake Law School’s Children’s Rights clinic taught the kids about juvenile justice and free-speech issues. They were encouraged to “think critically and respond artistically” to what they learned, according to program notes.
Art Force has 30 to 40 youth in its programs at any given time, Feilmeyer says. There are afternoon and evening workshops, as well as in-school programs. In March, it launched StreetCred Studios, a screen-printing and digital media studio that employs 16-to-24-year-olds with criminal backgrounds for screen-printing, photography and videography services. They're trained and coached through Children and Families of Iowa’s Connect 2 Careers program. Art Force has also done video workshops with immigrant and refugee organizations.
Feilmeyer says art is the perfect medium because young people can reflect and share their diverse backgrounds. It also helps newcomers acculturate to America in a non-threatening way.
The young people are coached in piano, voice, guitar, hip hop and theater. Though the program has no official relationship with juvenile court services, it's held up as a model by the Youth First Initiative, a national advocacy campaign to end youth incarceration. The initiative calls the program the best alternative to large youth detention centers like Iowa's 148-year-old Eldora State Training School for Boys.
Liz Ryan, president and CEO of Youth First, says kids at low risk of re-offending can do best staying at home and getting community services. Those who can’t go home should still have individually tailored living situations and get supportive services. The most effective approaches incorporate families, she said, but “those in Iowa often exclude families.”
Feilmeyer says people working in the juvenile justice system locally are concerned about the over-incarceration of youth. But the lack of community-based solutions — and “the system doesn’t consider us one,” he said — get in the way. He said with a 27 percent average recidivism rate, Art Force beats Polk County Juvenile Detention in repeat offenses or charges by more than 10 percentage points.
The purpose of corrections should be to reform behavior, although at too many prisons, rehabilitation isn't the point. If young offenders, especially those from underprivileged homes and dysfunctional families, are to have a fighting chance in life, they need help getting on track. Art can bring self-awareness, mastery and an income. It's a creative outlet to channel indignation into social-change advocacy. And it lets other people in. This is a project well worth supporting.
Art Force fundraiser
Thursday's fundraiser is from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Polk County Heritage Gallery, 111 Court Ave., Des Moines. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door. www.artforceiowa.org/kjtickets. The #KnowJustice series will also feature:
Free Speech Night, April 26 from 7-9 p.m., with youth poetry presentations.
Juvenile Incarceration Panel, May 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. Polk County Associate Juvenile Judge Colin Witt will interview two young adults who endured long-term juvenile court placement out of the home.
Both events are at Polk County Heritage Gallery.