Today we’d like to introduce you to Birgit Walker, Storie Hawkins, and Jean Donatto.
Birgit, Storie, and Jean, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Thanks to the leadership and vision of its founder Birgit “Gypsy” Walker, teaching artists, guest performers, volunteers and funders, Children’s Prison Arts Project introduces juvenile offenders to express their thoughts and visions in constructive ways and help them to turn their lives around. Walker created previous theater and art projects with children, but she recognized a need in Texas for arts education aimed at incarcerated youth. For 25 years Children’s Prison Arts project has evolved into an established non-profit organization that offers innovative workshops in theater, creative writing and visual arts to over 700 children in 3 Harris county juvenile facilities a year.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The participants in the program often have little or no experience with the arts. Instructing three days of intensive theatre and visual art workshops and producing a play and completing artwork with this timeframe is no small feat but the youth flourish despite the intense timeline, by the 4th-day youth present their completed work to an audience of peers and juvenile staff. Every workshop and temperament of the participants are different, but the inherent need humans have for self-expression always triumphs, and the students are proud of their creations.
Tell us more about Children’s Prison Arts Project – what else should we know?
CPAP is one of the only organizations in Houston to offer comprehensive, art-based prevention services to incarcerated youth. We focus on breaking the cycle of recidivism and promoting a positive change by building positive peer culture via an open forum to encourage racial tolerance, self-empowerment, and encourage creative expression.
The theater productions cover various teen related topics such as respect towards others, sexual health, gang de-glorification, the dangers of human trafficking, developing healthy relationships, and peaceful alternatives to destructive behavior.
The visual arts workshop focuses on introducing participants to color theory, composition, and how to transfer their ideas to canvas. In theatre, youth learn non-competitive theatre games, improvisation theatre techniques, as well as the Brecht and Stanislavski methods.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Birgit Gypsy Walker- Children’s Prison Arts Project Founder and Artistic/Executive Director
She reached out to at-risk youth who had little or no exposure to the visual and performing arts. She has a lasting impression on the myriad of students she has positively influenced and mentored over many years of teaching internationally and locally. From Brazil to Harlem to Houston, Walker’s contributions have been far-reaching and fundamental to the lives of many by introducing them to the arts.
Jean Donatto – Lead Theater Director.
Affectionately called “Mama G” by her students, is a positive and lively instructor that brings discipline and treats every play like a professional production.
She has participated in arts education as an actress, director, and storyteller.
In her twenty-four years with the Children’s Prison Arts Project she has seen that art heals.
“I see that it improves the quality of life in just about every circumstance. There is nothing on Earth I would rather do than share the magic of art with someone who needs it. Rendering service is a must for me. I have found my place. I wish I could go on forever.”
Storie Hawkins – Visual Arts Instructor.
Storie is a Houston native and local artist. Believing everyone has the inherent ability to create, she pushes her students to build confidence in their own self-expression.
“Art is therapeutic and can be a guiding light in a dark place and a voice to communicate with peers and the community.”
CPAP would not be possible without the assistance of our board, funding in part by grants provided by The Simmons Foundation, Brown Foundation, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. Over 25 years, many sponsors and grants have given CPAP the ability to teach over 29,000 youth in Harris County Juvenile facilities. The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance supports the monthly art exhibits, “Art Behind Walls Exhibitions.”
This year Harris County Juvenile Probation Department is assisting with funding to allow CPAP to implement a Juvenile Detention Summer Arts Camp in July 2019. Under the Executive Director Henry Gonzales’ direction and newly elected judges the focus less on penalizing juveniles by incarceration and putting more focus on rehabilitation through the arts and other positive avenues.
Contact Info:
- Address: PO box 130584 Houston TX 77219-0584
- Website: http://www.childrensprisonart.org/
- Phone: (713) 520-7661
- Email: pr.childrensprisonarts@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/childrens_prison_arts_project
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPAProject/
Image Credit:
CPAP
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