SVA’s MFA Design for Social Innovation program presents Natural Life, a documentary screening and Q&A about youth incarceration in America.
There are over 2500 inmates in the U.S. who are serving a Life Without Parole sentence for a crime they committed as juveniles. The U.S. is the only country in the world that allows Life Without Parole sentencing for youth. Join SVA’s Design for Social Innovation (DSI) students and faculty, as we investigate the harsh realities, current policies, and potential role of design thinking and social innovation on juvenile justice issues.
The Documentary, Natural Life:
Natural Life is a 77-minute experimental documentary that challenges inequities in the U.S. juvenile justice system by depicting, through documentation and reenactment, the stories of five individuals of different age, gender, economic background and race, who were sentenced to Life Without Parole (Natural Life) for crimes they committed as youth. The five will never be evaluated for change, difference, or growth. They will remain in prison till they die.
The Panel:
Tirtza Even is a practicing video artist and documentary maker. Even has produced both linear and interactive video work examining social/political dynamics in specific locations (e.g. Palestine, Turkey, Spain, the U.S. and Germany, among others). Her work has appeared at the Museum of Modern Art, NY, at the Whitney Biennial, the Johannesburg Biennial, as well as in many other festivals, galleries and museums in the United States, Israel and Europe.
Gabrielle Horowitz-Prisco is Director of the Juvenile Justice Project at the Correctional Association of New York. She oversees all of the Project’s principal activities, including developing and implementing youth justice reform, advocacy strategies, and coordinating the Juvenile Justice Coalition.
Steven Watt is a Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Human Rights Program where he specializes in civil and human rights litigation before domestic courts and international tribunals. Watt is counsel in a host of state and federal court cases involving U.S. rendition, detention, and interrogation programs, trafficking and forced labor, juvenile justice, women’s and immigrants’ rights, and prison conditions.
Yuval Sheer is Deputy Director of the New York Center for Juvenile Justice, where he oversees the development and implementation of the Center’s programs including its effort to build a New York statewide advocacy network which will be active in colleges, faith based organizations, and community organizations across New York State. This effort is aimed at transforming our Juvenile Justice system by encouraging a more robust and candid public discussion.
This event is free and open to the public, though reservations are requested.  Please click here or on the ticket icon above.