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Presentation: Teaching Art for Personal and Social Transformation

featuring Rhodessa Jones and Lisa L. Biggs, Ph.D.
Sunday, 8/29/2021
1:00 - 2:30

Rhodessa Jones discusses the transformative power of her groundbreaking Expressive Therapy and Performance Methodology, which Jones developed from her 30-years of experience in correctional facilities throughout the world. The program moderator is author and actress Lisa L. Biggs, PhD. Biggs joined Jones in South Africa to work in Johannesburg Correctional Services. This program is vital to anyone with an interest in teaching art in a manner that heals and transforms our personal and social spaces.

Watch on YouTube. 

 

As Co-Artistic Director of Cultural Odyssey and Founder/Director of the Medea Project, Jones has been a local icon in San Francisco for over 40 years. Her co-artistic Director Idris Ackamoor and their company Cultural Odyssey have been pillars in the SF community for people of color and the LGBTQI+ community. Through job development, community development, youth services and especially promoting emerging artists and arts organizations. Cultural Odyssey is a significant participant in Mayor London Breed's Dream Keeper Initiative.

 

As an artist and a scholar, Dr. Biggs is interested in the role of the arts and performance more broadly within movements for social justice in the United States. Her current scholarship investigates the role of the arts in movements for social justice. Her monograph, tentatively titled Beyond Incarceration, records, and theorizes the impact of theatre programs for incarcerated women in the U.S. and South Africa and is under contract with the Ohio State University Press.

 

For more information on the Medea Project and Teaching Art for Personal and Social Transformation, please contact Kim McMillon at kimmac@pacbell.net.


Learn from world-class designers, artists and experts in their fields. 

Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Black community.

More Than a Month recognizes important events in Black history, honors community and national leaders and fosters steps towards collective change. Programming features authors, poets and craft classes. 

Learn about and increase your awareness of issues related to jail, prison, incarceration and reentry resources. Find out more about our services: sfpl.org/services/jail-and-reentry-services.


This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.


Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.


Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.