Saturday, February 8, 3:00 PM - Panel Discussion with artist Sara Bennett and representatives from Mercy Corps NW's Prison and Re-Entry Services, YMCA of Greater Portland's Family Preservation Project, and Open Hearts Open Minds' Theatre at Coffee Creek, part of the exhibition Life After Life in Prison: the Bedroom Project on view February 6—March 1, 2020.
As a former public defender with a specialty in representing battered women and the wrongly convicted, Sara Bennett became interested in documenting women with life sentences. The result was her project Life After Life in Prison. Please join us for an educational panel discussion on Saturday, February 8 at 3 PM with artist Sara Bennett as she shares the impetus for and impact of her project. Joining Bennett to share their stories of working to empower women in the prison system: Effie Bustamante, Program Manager of Prison and Reentry Services at Mercy Corps NW; Jessica Katz, Program Director of Family Preservation Project at YWCA of Greater Portland; and Carla Grant, Executive Director of Open Hearts, Open Minds, which brings theatre experiences to women at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
Free admission.
With special thanks to our panelists at Saturday’s discussion, bringing to light issues around art, activism, mass incarceration, women in the prison system, and solutions at work. To learn more, to get involved, to support these programs, please visit the following links.
Sara Bennett, Artist, former Public Defender
https://www.lifeafterlifeinprison.com/
Mercy Corps NW, Prison & Re-Entry Services
https://www.mercycorpsnw.org/reentry-transition-center/life/
More on Mercy Corps NW’s programs & first hand interviews
YWCA of Greater Portland, Family Preservation Project (FPP)
https://www.ywcapdx.org/what-we-do/family-preservation-project/
Go to this page to see a trailer for “Mothering Inside”
https://www.ywcapdx.org/get-involved/
Open Hearts & Open Minds, Theatre at Coffee Creek
http://openheartsopenminds.net/our-programs/
Oregon Justice Resource Center
Women’s Justice Project