Collective Artwork in Response to Wayland "X" Coleman
Remember Me
by the Collaborative Arts Incubator Class

​In this video, we are exploring the concept of “US” and the condition of our humanity. Our story is told in three parts, inspired by the experiences of incarceration and remarkable strength of our guest artist, Wayland X. Coleman. First, we present visions and music from the depths of despair. To be incarcerated is to be locked away and isolated from society, judged as a monster, or as Wayland says, “buried and forgotten.” In the incarceration system, your humanity is stripped away from you in every possible way. Next, we present a light - a moment of connection. This was inspired by Wayland’s experiences in the “Empowering Song” class, where he was treated with true recognition of his humanity. Finally, we experience hope and discomfort as to what we should do next. There is hope, but the incarceration system is rife with troubling problems. We want to convey that “we” are “US.” We are accountable. We are using art to share these experiences. We have power to fight for change in the systems that we were taught not to question. WE are U.S. Where do U Stand?

Poetry: Jimmy Rotondo
Music: Rose Whitcomb, Cheryl Freeze, Grace Wodarcyk, Jessica Tovey, Tara Palazuelos, Grace Shaver Visual
Art: Evelyn Li, Kateri Gemperlein-Schirm, Sunny Moxin-Chen, Alyssa Jewell
Video Performance: Jimmy Rotondo, Alyssa Jewell, Cheryl Freeze
​Video Editing: Allison Donahue
God Forbid
by Shishy Gebru and Jessica Tovey
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​This video was created in response to the works of Halim Flowers, Ras-Jahallah T. Shabazz, and Wayland Coleman, the artists who have inspired us through the pain they faced of incarceration. ​
99 Days
by Paul Nielsen
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This music was in response to a phone conversation we experienced with Wayland Coleman. He spent 99 days in solitary confinement, and the phone conversation was abruptly ended mid sentence, leaving us all in silence.
RJPP Solitary Confinement 
by Blair Cadden and Jamal Love

​This collaboration was created in response to the heartbreaking and disgusting statistics on solitary confinement. It combines voiceover recording of these unadorned facts with a movement piece exploring the emotional impact of this kind of isolation--which is, in fact, torture.

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Roots v. Routes
by Morgan Chen

My work is inspired by Wayland Coleman, an incarcerated individual and activist for clean water in the Massachusetts prisons. In a conversation we had, he expressed this notion about the difference between roots and routes. My work is a reflection on our conversation. I crafted my artistry to this notion: To plant your roots in a system rooted in structural racism, is harmful, and isolating many voices that are at its root, Human Beings. No matter when, where, how, or why the introduction to the system, there is no escaping it, and We need to be better.

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ak/love-and-sorrow
​License code: C85KZASGFCTX0J4M
Prison Cell with Music and Images
music and images curated by Bobbie Steinbach
poem by Mahmoud Darwish

Resilience, resolve, and the power of memory. In the BU workshop, Race, Prison, Justice: Illuminating Stories Through the Arts, I was incredibly inspired by the guests, either actually free now, or free in their minds and hearts. The healing power of engaging in the arts, when one is incarcerated, is so very clear. This poem eloquently speaks to that power. I was moved to add images and music to Mahmoud Darwish’s beautiful poem.