YAPHANK CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
A PART OF ME WANTS TO BE ALL OF ME was a five-session Restorative Photography and Writing Workshop at Yaphank Correctional Facility, where twenty participants in Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr.’s Addiction Treatment Program spent five weeks learning portrait photography, writing reflective pieces about their inner lives, and building collages that captured where they’ve been, where they are, and where they hope to go. Guided by a parts-based framework — the idea that we carry many inner voices, each with its own history and wisdom — participants photographed one another, wrote about the parts of themselves they protect, hide, and hope to reclaim, and assembled those images and words into the mood boards you see here. The result was an exhibit at the Yaphank Correctional Facility, equal parts art show and self-portrait: twenty people, in the middle of their story, who chose to look at themselves honestly and decided what they saw was worth sharing.
COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP
REFLECTION This workshop focused on justice-impacted women at College and Community Fellowship, offering participants the opportunity to reclaim their narratives and share their lived experiences. The theme for the program was “Reflection.” Using reflective props, the twelve participants explored not only photography but also new ways of being creative producing work that was deeply personal and uniquely their own.
Through photography, dialogue, and creative writing, participants created stories that highlight their warrior strength and resilience. The program concluded with each woman crafting a written piece titled “A Masterpiece in the Making.” Their art—both in photographs and in writingis nothing less than a collection of masterpieces.