Celebrating "Sing Sing", by Caddell Kivett

The Oscars are tonight, and if you're reading this, you may be wondering why I'm talking about it here and what this has to do with Prison Reimagined.

Feature film Sing Sing (Kwedar, 2023) nominated for two Academy Awards, is a story based on a real-life theater program offered by the organization Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), at Sing Sing prison in New York.

The film highlights the success and importance of the arts in prisons, and demonstrates how these programs work to transform and enrich the individual behind bars. According to RTA, "less than 3% of RTA participants return to prison, compared to the national average of 60%."

Often, creative depictions of people in prison are unrealistic, stereotypical and dehumanizing. From my perspective as a currently incarcerated person, Sing Sing gets it right. This movie captures, not just the culture and reality of life behind bars, but also the complexity, diversity, emotion and humanity of incarcerated people.

Clarence Maclin spent years in Sing Sing prison. There he earned his bachelor's degree and was a member of the RTA Theater Group. Now free, Maclin stars in the film as himself and shows us how, when provided with resources, people behind bars are not just capable, but likely to change.

While Sing Sing offers a glimpse of what success looks like when outside partners work with incarcerated people, these programs are the exception, and not the rule in America's prisons.

Prison Reimagined also works to provide opportunities for incarcerated people to raise their voices through the arts, and we celebrate these nominations and the successes of RTA.

Tonight’s nominations, invaluable exposure for Sing Sing, illuminate the importance of the arts, the transformative capability of people behind bars, and show why both incarcerated and free communities must come together in recognition of our shared humanity.

Congratulations Sing Sing cast and crew!