The Pozen Family Center Human Rights Lab has partnered with White Snake Projects (WSP) on a powerful new opera, Death By Life, which explores the intersection of systemic racism and mass incarceration in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
As a prelude to the premiere of Death By Life, the Human Rights Lab and White Snake Projects also collaborated on a three-part event series, Understanding and Responding to Mass Incarceration. The series helps to cultivate an ecosystem around Death By Life that allows attendees to more fully immerse themselves in the issues addressed by the opera.
You can watch all three events in the series below. In addition, we hope you’ll explore the attendant virtual art gallery, To Breathe, featuring artwork by currently and formerly incarcerated artists.
Tickets for Death By Life, which will premiere virtually on May 20, 2021, with additional performances on May 22 and May 25, can be purchased on the White Snake Projects website.
Art as Transformation: Music and Drama for Incarcerated Youth (March 30)
This interactive Zoom session explores art as a means of transformation for persons who have experienced or are experiencing incarceration, including guided activities and a discussion about art-making and community through music, drama, and creative writing while imprisoned.
Art and Imagination Inside Prisons (April 6)
This conversation explores art-making inside the prison industrial complex as a practice of freedom by incarcerated artists. Panelists discuss artworks crafted behind the prison wall and the creative processes involved in making, learning, and teaching art behind bars.
Freedom-Making in an Age of Mass Incarceration (April 13)
This event features a panel discussion about what freedom-making means within the deeply carceral context of contemporary America. A Q&A session follows the moderated conversation.