Quiet Collective helps shape our community culture

What do a Buddhist nun, a film producer, a rapper and a classical painter have in common?

They are all part of Quiet Collective, an artist-led community that offered a workshop series at Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) on Thursday, May 15. In the Healing Through Creative Practice textbook, Quiet Collective members describe themselves as “creators of cultural currency that elevates consciousness, builds community, and shapes culture.” It is made up of over 200 artists around the world, at different stages of their careers.

The six-hour workshop series took place in three simultaneously occurring groups, labeled A, B and C.

Sister Peace, a Buddhist nun, led group A in a series of meditative movements, to create a milieu of tranquility. The group started with a breathing meditation designed, as Sister Peace said, to “calm our minds in the storm.” Shortly afterwards, the participants engaged in exercises that helped them focus on bodily sensations, to heighten awareness of where their bodies end and their surroundings begin.

The highlight of Group A’s experience was Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper to create art. “Focusing on the fold of each piece, making sure the edges align perfectly before committing to the crease is a great metaphor for life,” Cameron Raines, a long-term resident said.

Finally, group members were taught how to create their own Gathas. A Gatha is a type of verse from ancient Iran designed to keep users in the present. Sister Peace also shared Gathas especially curated for CCWF.

In Group B, the workshop theme was, according to a handout from the Healing Through Creative Practice curriculum, “exploring identity and healing through the duality of what is seen and what remains unseen.” Pairing off, the participants used charcoal as a medium to draw portraits of each other. Judging by the laughter, they had a great time drawing one another.

Formally incarcerated, classical painter and owner of art teaching studio Atelier South, George Morton is dedicated to being a mentor to artists in carceral places. “I want to do for them [what] no one would do for me,” he said. In his award-winning documentary, “Master of Light,” he continues to use his art as an outlet to process trauma and healing.

Meanwhile in Group C, participants were watching “Songs from the Hole,” the award-winning visual album-documentary set to original music by James Jacobs, AKA JJ’88, and produced by ritchie reseda, both previously incarcerated individuals. Based on JJ’s life pre- and post-incarceration, the film resonated deeply with the workshop participants.

“The most impactful moment was when JJ’88 chose to forgive the man who killed his brother,” Cassandra Hamm, a long term CCWF resident said. “That grace he showed was incredible.”

During the lunch break, participants socialized with the workshop facilitators, and had the opportunity to take pictures with a professional photographer.

The workshops emphasized how art in all its forms can be used not only as a way to express oneself but also as a way to transform and rehabilitate lives. As JJ’88 said, “Prison is not how we find ourselves; we find ourselves through creative practices, accountability and integrity.”