Annabel Manning featured on The Justice Arts Coalition blog

Collage by Men’s Empowerment Project participant at the Harlem Community Justice Center.

An excerpt from 2018-19 Hine Fellow Annabel Manning’s recent piece featured on the Justice Arts Coalition blog—about her work with the Harlem Community Justice Center‘s Men’s Empowerment Program, and how it connects to her earlier work with the Jail Arts Initiative:

“As part of my Lewis Hine Fellowship with Duke University, I have been working with the Men’s Empowerment Program (MEP) at Harlem Community Justice Center. MEP creates opportunities for young men of color in Harlem to heal, build self-identity, pursue individual goals, and work with peers to strengthen their communities. My role is to teach these young men artistic tools (printmaking, photography, the written word, photography, audio, and other mediums) as a way to approach these goals . MEP participants have all been impacted by the justice system in some way.

MEP interns are constructing collages based on Romare Bearden’s “Block” painting series. Bearden was a Harlem-based artist and activist who created artwork that visualized and commented upon black life in Harlem. Likewise, in the spirit of Bearden, MEP participants are creating collages based on their own neighborhoods. They take their photos, photos from Harlem based magazines and newspapers, paint, patterned paper, and text.  Then they interview each other about their blocks and this audio becomes an important component to the visual pieces.”