In the Justice System
For nearly 15 years, Carnegie Hall’s programs in justice settings have played a central role in fulfilling the Hall’s mission of making great music accessible to the widest audience possible. Music can act as a catalyst for personal growth by building agency, empathy, and connection with others.
The Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) serves people of all ages in the justice system through programs in which participants write and perform their own music, collaborate with others, and develop their artistry. Workshops explore how the arts can be a powerful tool for self-expression, expand opportunities, and amplify program participants’ voices, which are often silenced by the justice system. Through creative experiences, participants, staff, teaching artists, and audiences grow and build community.
In our longstanding work to develop programs for and with people involved in the justice system—a system that creates barriers to the development of self-expression and disproportionately impacts and harms people of color—Carnegie Hall leverages the arts as a tool for justice reform. This is achieved by serving those involved in the justice system through initiatives that encourage creative expression, and by using our platform to share their stories, both during incarceration and upon reentry to society.
WMI believes in integrating the arts as an essential part of successful reentry to society and that a passion for the arts can provide access to employment opportunities, an emotional outlet, and a network. Learn more about our programs that serve people who are system-involved.
Ages: Youth and Adults
Geography: New York
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Programs in the Justice System
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“I’ve learned more than just the technique of performance—I’ve learned about self-confidence and collaboration with others, which I so richly enjoy.”
“Musical Connections helped me realize that, regardless of my incarceration, I still have a voice and power to change the lives of others around me. I do this by continuing to assist my musical community at Sing Sing and to provide service as a case management prerelease coordinator for those who return home.”
“I want my music to show that it helped me change my life and gave me a new outlook on how I live my life now.”
“I have been with the program for five and a half months. Before it took me a long time to write a song, I got better at writing under pressure, and I feel more confident. I write a lot of new stuff here. During one workshop, the way we were able to take our pain and put it into a song that sounds fire was good... That helps you. It’s a good coping skill. Some people get mad and frustrated and then go do something they’re not supposed to; this is a way to express yourself without getting in trouble. This might actually take you somewhere.”
“I think music has taught me how to listen. The reason why I had so much difficulty in my early days of doing music was that I was so caught up in doing what I was doing. I wasn't worried about anybody else but me. So if I was on the piano, I was worried about what I was doing on the piano … that listening skill, it sort of translated to every facet of my life. It made me a better father, a better partner, a good friend, a better worker, and a better leader. And not just being able to listen, but to be able to really hear people.”
Learn More
NeON Arts is a program of the NYC Department of Probation in partnership with Renaissance Youth Center and Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute.
Major support is provided by The Kresge Foundation.
Additional support is provided by The Joel Foundation; and Council Members Althea Stevens and Kamillah Hanks.
Public support has been provided by the NYC Health+Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department and New York State Senator Liz Krueger, with support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.
