I am beyond excited to share that I am working on a project I am calling “Transformative Justice Fall (TJ Fall).” TJ Fall is kicking off early with a sold out discussion on August 15 about Transformative Justice and the Trayvon Martin case.

Next, I am happily collaborating (again) with my friend, brilliant artist Billy Dee to create an arts-informed transformative justice curriculum that we will make available to educators and organizers this fall. The reason for creating this curriculum is to foster discussions with young people about the concepts of transformative justice.

All of this leads up to an amazing exhibition featuring the art of my friend, talented & visionary artist Micah Bazant. Here are Micah’s own words about the Cities of Refuge project:

For the past few years I’ve been working on an art project about transformative justice and scapegoating. It is rooted in my personal experiences of healing from ostracization, but also a longing to understand these experiences historically, spiritually and politically.

The art re-imagines two ancient models of dealing with social transgression: the ritual goat sacrifice (or azazel in Hebrew) that was the root of the scapegoat concept, and the mythic Cities of Refuge (or Ir Miklat) where people accused of a crime could take refuge from violent retribution. As the project develops, the scapegoat is slowly entering the city and the city is entering the scapegoat.

As part of the project, Lewis Wallace and I created a zine of powerful stories about transformative justice.

In collaboration with Project Nia, it will be showing at HumanThread Center/Gallery for Peace, Arts & Education in the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago 11/11 – 12/9. The project is open for future collaborations with other artists, educators, spiritual communities and organizers!

Below are some amazing photographs of some of the art from Cities of Refuge.

Azazel (Scapegoat) with Ir Miklat (City of Refuge), 2013, clay, goat fur, sequins, trash.

Azazel (Scapegoat) with digestive tract, 2011.
People are asked to write down a serious transgression they have committed and insert it into the goat. Then they pull a question about transformative justice from the mouth of the goat.

Cities of Refuge (Arei Miklat), 2012-2013

City of Refuge (Ir Miklat) #2, 2013, cardboard, electric lights

City of Refuge (Ir Miklat) #3, 2013, cardboard, electric lights