Women on the Rise and Represent Justice team up for Reimagine ATL art activation
JUNE 1, 2021, ATLANTA, GA — Women on the Rise, in partnership with Represent Justice, will take over The Underground in Atlanta with a unique and interactive art activation July 2nd and 3rd, 2021. The art installation will include visual art, dance, music, film, performances, and tours throughout each day. The event will showcase the perspective of system-impacted artists and their visions for a future free of incarceration and full of community investment, prosperity and light.
This public art activation is part of an ongoing effort to reimagine the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) and repurpose the facility into a Center for Wellness & Freedom. This would also mean reallocating the $32.5 million dollars spent annually on the center to services that would help those most under-resourced and marginalized in the community thrive.
“It’s clear that our justice system needs to change. Reimagine ATL allows us to look to the perspectives and solutions of justice-impacted visionaries to bring about that change, and start dreaming of what a more equitable, hopeful Atlanta could look like,” said Bridgette Simpson of Women on The Rise.
Through this activation, the public will have the opportunity to navigate through two experiential exhibitions. The first is “The Impossible Passage,” which will reflect the cyclical nature of a justice system lacking in avenues for redemption, and true community investment and support. The second, “The Possible Passage,” will envision a world where public safety in achieved for those in Atlanta by ensuring resources — safe housing, secure food, access to mental and physical wellness — are provided.
Women on the Rise has been creating grassroot momentum for these efforts, and through a partnership with Represent Justice, hopes to Reimagine Atlanta as a city free from the antiquated and racist constraints of the past by centering the voices and experiences of those who have been most impacted by the system.
“It’s an honor to support the incredible efforts of Women on the Rise and the community leaders who have endured the impact of the justice system for far too long,” said Daniel Forkkio, Represent Justice CEO. “This project serves to articulate their powerful vision for how the city of Atlanta can reckon with, heal from, and divest from the systems of incarceration that have damaged countless families — disproportionately Black and Brown — in the community.”
The two day installation will take over The Underground, a historic four-block radius in the center of downtown Atlanta. The city landmark is going through a reimagining of its own and will incorporate the art activation as part of its holiday weekend programming.
Date: July 2-3
Location: The Underground, 50 Upper Alabama St, Atlanta, GA 30303
Women on the Rise, a group formed by formerly incarcerated women, works to demand justice, dignity, and liberation for all through collective action that transforms communities and builds public safety by creating strong, interdependent communities. Through support provided by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities’ Real Communities Initiative, WOTR also seeks to also ensure that equal justice is received by individuals with developmental disabilities ensnared in the criminal justice system. You can learn more at www.womenontherisega.org and @WomenOnTheRise1 on twitter and @womenontherisega on Instagram.
Represent Justice is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of media to engage audiences in reimagining the justice system. Through stories of hope and redemption, we create public demand for a fair legal legal system, dignity for system impacted communities, and an end to extreme sentences.
Represent Justice first launched as a campaign alongside the release of the feature film, Just Mercy, about the life and legacy of Bryan Stevenson.For the duration of the campaign, Represent Justice succeeded in harnessing the attention of the film’s release and creating programs to bring people proximate to issues within the justice system, and leveraged influencers and stakeholders around important issues and themes at the heart of the film.