Portraits of Justice Performance with Shontina Vernon

Due to rain, this event has been moved indoors. Please join us in Conversation Hall on the second floor of City Hall (enter through the northeast entrance of City Hall).

The Portraits of Justice initiative culminates in October, continuing with a performance from multidisciplinary performance artist and Reimagining Reentry Fellow Shontina Vernon.

When and Where We Re-enter is a participatory storytelling workshop that asks participants to consider the cost of the current incarceration system on their lives, communities, and collective potential. Using text, movement, music and meditations, the workshop will culminate in a public action in front of a mural from artists Jesse Krimes and Russell Craig, using public art to engage the broader public in reimagining and reflecting on the criminal justice system.

Vernon says, “It is my hope that through these works, I will further my message of resilience, accountability, hope, and redemption while also encouraging other young people to find their voice and create meaningful commentary around the issues that affect, empower, and uplift them most.”

Portraits of Justice has expanded our Guild apprenticeship program and launched a brand-new interdisciplinary fellowship for formerly incarcerated artists, led by Krimes and Craig. Their new collaborative mural will serve as a backdrop for participatory public art and performances from all five Reimagining Reentry Fellows: Reginald Dwayne Betts, Shontina Vernon, Sue Ellen Allen, Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, and Luis Suave Gonzales.