I run Chaos Theory, a nonprofit that uses the arts to connect community members who have been impacted by the cycle of violence with stakeholders, policy makers, and the public. We believe the arts are uniquely positioned to shift hearts and minds, dismantle harmful stigma, and inspire vital public dialogue–led by those who have been directly impacted.
Last year, I produced Hear Me: a documentary featuring seven young people from Berkshire County who have been impacted by gun violence. We explore underlying root causes, health disparities, stories of impact, and a way forward–through the stories of experts.
I am currently working on If I Ran the City–a new documentary that will feature teenagers in the custody of the Dept. of Youth Services (juvenile jail). Young people will reflect on social issues that impacted their trajectory, and advocate for change in their community. We explore violence as a public health crisis, and acknowledge young people who have been directly impacted as the experts–and we ask what they would do if they ran the city.
I worked with a man who is currently incarcerated on a memoir project entitled Kids at War–exploring growing up in the Westside of Pittsfield, selling drugs, gang affiliation, losing friends to gun violence and overdose, relationships with the criminal justice system, law enforcement, and the government at large.
The narratives we are fed in the media, of ‘criminals,’ ‘felons,’ ‘delinquents,’ and so on, fail to tell the whole story. We don’t meet the human beings behind the headlines, or learn what got them to where they are. Chaos Theory aims to tell a more complete story, to disrupt cycles of violence and incarceration, and to hold systems accountable for the role they play in being complicit to further entrenching violence.