- SEPT 9 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM
- @ the SCA
- Free Admission
Voices Beyond the Canvas: Amplifying a New Narrative
An open panel discussion on systemic racism
Join us for an evening of discussion, insight, questions and more as we hear from the voices beyond the canvas. You will hear from artist Sandra Antongiorgi and trauma informed specialist Elena Quintana and special guests as they unpack the racial complexities and narratives behind the portraits of the Cages Rooster series. This series highlights the injustices, trauma and often silent suffering inflicted on incarcerated youth and invites us all to reflect on these injustices and learn new ways to amplify new narratives.
Meet the Panel
About Sandra Antongiorgi
Sandra Antongiorgi is an accomplished singer, songwriter and post-disciplinary painter based in Chicago, IL. Puerto Rican native Sandra Antongiorgi’s life experiences and inherent talent have blended together to produce a diverse and impressive body of work in the arts. Sandra’s work highlights the marginalized and oppressed, particularly those affected by incarceration. To learn more about Sandra’s work visit her website at: http://www.santongiorgi.com
About Elena Quintana
Elena Quintana, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Institute on Public Safety & Social Justice at Adler University. Dr. Quintana was trained in both Clinical and Community Psychology. Currently her work entails creating trauma-informed programs, research, and events that promote socially just solutions to public safety challenges. This includes work related to the juvenile justice system, restorative justice implementation and evaluation, violence prevention, immigration policy and detention reform, and addressing the mental health needs of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated. Dr. Quintana has served on the State of Illinois Commission for Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform and currently serves on the Oversight Board for the City of Chicago Police Department Consent Decree.
About Orlando Mayorga
Orlando Mayorga is a justice-impacted person whose 20 years of incarceration in the Illinois Department of Corrections informs his passion to stop mass incarceration. He is a Restorative Justice practitioner who values the humanity in all people and works to support healing for people who carry the trauma of incarceration. His mission in life is to end mass incarceration and to dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline.
He currently serves the Office of the Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative as the McCormick Reentry Policy Coordinator Fellow. In his previous role as Program Manager and Director of Reentry, Orlando served to build a framework for holistic reentry services that are trauma-informed and restorative at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. He is a co-founder of the People’s Liberty Project, led by directly justice-impacted women and men, focused on creating spaces of healing and drafting restorative/transformative alternative policy frameworks that support healing communities and people. He will also be starting graduate school at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice in the Fall to better serve the beloved community.
About Joseph Mapp
Joseph Mapp is a Restorative Justice Practitioner who is passionate about ending mass incarceration and turning this “school to prison pipeline” on its head by engaging in “prison to school” work. He believes education is a key factor in dismantling the school to prison pipeline. It is his belief that this can be accomplished in two ways, personal and social development. As a returning citizen who has been incarcerated for nearly 27 years, Joseph has experienced firsthand the transformative power of education.
In acquiring all the education available to him in prison (two associate degrees, three vocational certificates, Substance Abuse Counselor Certificate, became a Certified Associate Addiction Professional by the Illinois Certification Board, and a Certificate in Educational Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign) Joseph did not think those accomplishments were meaningful unless they were being used to build community. He volunteered for over 10 years as a Peer-educator and an Adult-literacy Tutor and assisted many men get their GED. As a Peer-educator he facilitated several cognitive behavior programs such as Substance Abuse, Anger Management, Lifestyle Redirection, and HIV/STI prevention.
Witnessing the shortcomings of the Illinois Department of Corrections educational system he wrote a proposal for a program that is now known as Community Anti-Violence Education (CAVE). CAVE is a trauma-informed peer-facilitated program that is still being utilized in Danville Correctional Center, Illinois Youth Center, and at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. He has also co-founded and peer-taught Language Partners, a nationally award-winning English as a Second Language program. This is a peer-led (incarcerated men) program under the training of Professors and Doctorial students (UIUC Intensive English Institute) to teach non-English speaking (incarcerated) men English.
Upon release from prison, he continues to do this work as he currently works as a Program Manager and Director of Reentry for Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR), a faith-based restorative justice organization – and volunteering for several organizations that are fighting to improve the conditions of those who are incarcerated.
For your safety and for the safety of our cast, artistic team and crew, staff AND so you may enjoy live entertainment, you must wear a mask when inside the Saugatuck Center for the Arts’ theater until further notice. If you don’t have a mask we are happy to provide one.
Thank you in advance for graciously cooperating!
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