Lucas Artist Residency (Montalvo Arts Center)
A 3-year month-long Dancing Through Prison Walls community retreat, 2024-2026.
As part of this 3-year residency, the Dancing Through Prison Walls community lives and gathers at the Montalvo Arts Center for a month every year. This is a restful and generative time for our community to be nourished by meals and long slow hikes through the redwoods as well as collaborate on various critical artistic and administrative projects.
We (12-15 members of our community) choreograph, create film, work, dream, plan and envision for the upcoming year, write grants and dance prompts to send into solitary, hike, rest, study together and take some much needed time to be quiet, and watch the stars and the wild turkeys!
We’ve worked on publications such as Freedom Time, our Dancing Through Solitary zine and Community Care Guidelines/Decolonized Rider and made use of outdoor and studio space to begin dreaming choreographic projects sent from people incarcerated in South Dakota, Michigan, New York, Palestine, and Puerto Rico.
We are replenished from and cherish this time of dreaming, dancing, eating, and making with our community.
