Mark Strandquist has spent years collaborating with incarcerated men, women, teens, and those in re-entry to create public art and advocacy projects. At the core of his practice is the belief that those most impacted by the criminal justice system are the experts that society needs to listen to. By connecting those directly affected with a multitude of community experts and political stakeholders, we can utilize art to create change on personal and systemic levels.
His projects range from working with incarcerated youth to train the entire Richmond Police Department; to connecting incarcerated men and women with thousands of people through interactive public art installation; to creating teams of lawyers, artists, and formerly incarcerated individuals to help facilitate free legal clinics that have cleared the records of thousands of individuals.
His projects have received multiple awards, fellowships, national residencies, and reached wide audiences through media outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, and VICE.
Performing Statistics connects incarcerated teens in Richmond, Virginia with artists, advocates, police departments, and many others to create public art and advocacy projects that help transform Virginia’s juvenile justice system.
Learn MoreCommunity art projects, both large and small, can become vehicles for social change. Artists discuss their longterm projects, how they began, how they involve their communities, and what advice they have for other artists who wish to engage their own communities in art projects. Panelists will discuss projects on local communities and the impacts they’ve had, far and wide.
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