Evidence of Liberation: Abolition Community Day

Assembly was founded as an alternative-to-incarceration (ATI) program shaped around the belief that art-making, relationships, economic resources, and community-led approaches to safety can create powerful pathways beyond the carceral system. This abolition community day invites you to explore the values that have shaped Assembly and that will guide Recess into the future.

12:00 –2:00PM Community Safety Workshop

Join Assembly Fellows for a hands-on workshop exploring the history of policing in NYC and community-led strategies towards safety. We will collectively explore what it means to build individual and collective safety while building out the practices and relationships that help our communities thrive. Whether you're new to abolition or need to skill up on de-escalation strategies, this workshop offers opportunities to learn, reflect, and envision what becomes possible when communities invest in care and accountability.

2:00–3:00PM Community Meal

Food and drinks will be available for anyone around between workshops. Take a walk, explore the exhibition, and break bread with a friend.

3:00–6:00PM Abolition Teach In: Reflections on Liberation

Recess’s Abolition Teach-In Series are gatherings that invite artists, neighbors, organizers, and curious learners to deepen their understanding of the systems shaping carceral systems in the United States while exploring abolitionist frameworks for imagining safety, care, and justice beyond systems of harm. In this edition of the series, we are holding space to learn and play together as a part of Recess’ Strategic Planning Process. Join us to be part of Recess’ collective visioning process, learn what liberation and community mean to other thinkers and allied projects in culture and justice spaces, and engage in a creative activity as we build knowledge together. Featuring Trevor Smith of the BLIS Collective, Che Gossett, scholar on queer, trans and black radicalism, resistance and abolition, and Toni Smith of the Drug Policy Alliance. Together we will explore how we align across movement, institution, and community when it comes to defining and attaining Liberation, ask new questions about building people power with the communities where we are known and unknown, and how we assess our roles in the collective work