FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 5, 2016
CONTACT: Jaime Perrington, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 917-654-9380
ARTISTS ANNOUNCE THE "MUSEUM OF DRUG POLICY" ON PARK AVENUE DURING THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM
THE POPUP CULTURAL HUB WILL TAKE PLACE ON APRIL 19, 20, 21
New York, N.Y. - The Museum of Drug Policy is a popup cultural hub that includes an immersive art experience and special live programming looking at the impact of current drug policies on populations around the world. The Museum will occupy space on Park Avenue for three days this month, during the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem.
Through art, conversations and experiential events, the Museum will showcase that the moment is now for drug policy reform and that damage caused by the war on drugs is evident across the world. The Museum will uplift the voices of people most impacted by the global drug policy: people who use drugs, crop growers, people who are incarcerated, people who have saved lives or lost loved ones to drug overdose, people on death row for drug offenses, doctors who can't prescribe adequate pain relief to their patients, and other voices of the international drug policy reform movement.
The Museum of Drug Policy will feature 70+ works from artists around the world, with interactive art installations, keynote addresses, panels, and community discussions that take attendees on a journey exploring the real impact and human cost of drug policy in communities around the world. Highlights include a special, live version of "Nerdland Forever: Live With Melissa Harris-Perry" that will include some very special guests. "Beats, Rhymes and Reform" will elevate the stories of people most impacted by the war on drugs through a night of spoken word poetry, featuring worldrenowned poets and a special appearance by hiphop mogul Russell Simmons and Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, whose son was murdered in 2011 by Mexican drug cartels. Academy Awardnominated director Matthew Heineman will do a Q&A with audience members after screening his new featurelength documentary, Cartel Land. The film sheds light on the Mexican drug war, with a focus on vigilante groups on both sides of the border to combat the cartels.
WHAT: Museum of Drug Policy
PopUp Cultural Hub coinciding with UNGASS
WHERE: 245 Park Avenue (corner of Park & E 47th St.)
WHEN: April 19-21, 2016
Open 10:00 am to 10:00 pm
Evening programming at 6:00pm with refreshments.
WHO: Melissa Harris-Perry, Russell Simmons, Matthew Heineman, Javier Sicilia, Hank Willis Thomas, Dr. Carl Hart, Glenn Martin, Baz Dreisinger, DJ Beverly Bond, Jasiri X and more.
The Museum of Drug Policy is supported by the Open Society Foundations. This event is free and open to the public.
###
|
The NRCAT solitary prison cell replica is a part of NRCAT's nationwide interfaith campaign to expose and end the torture of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails and detention centers. Inspired by the work of WISDOM in Wisconsin, the original architects of the cell replica project, NRCAT collaborated with a local carpenter to construct a solitary prison cell replica that is now on tour to various houses of worship and interfaith venues nationwide. The replica was constructed in the worship space of an Episcopal Church in Washington, DC, and includes audio recording from a maximum security prison in Maine. People are invited to sit in the cell, and those who have are very moved and motivated to take action. Thus far, the cell replica has been on display at Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, DC, the Islamic Circle of North America's Annual Convention in Baltimore, the United Church of Christ General Synod in Cleveland, OH, and the Pennsylvania Council of Churches' Statewide Conference on Mass Incarceration, and the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis. |
