Maine Inside Out

OUTSIDE PROGRAM-MIO was able to utilize our new physical location that we are leasing at 168 Lisbon Street in Lewiston. Our staff team was able to hold in-person meetings, create art, connect with each other and community partners, and hold events at our site. Like prior years, the focus of our work continued to be focused on art creation andsharing, advocacy and support work for members, transformative justice and leadership development both inside correctional facilities and in communities. We were also able to expand our theater program into schools. Our pilot program began in Lewiston Middle School (LMS) in March. The theater program at LMS had MIO staff engaging with students in our arts-based model for youth leadership, community support, and crisis intervention. Students were placed in groups to create and perform original theater in an 8-12 week process with three distinct phases. In the first phase, groups create agreements for values and conduct and engage in ice-breakers, collaborative problem solving, personal story sharing, and basic theater skill-building exercises. In the second phase, the groups synthesize personal stories and artistic content into a cohesive original play. In the third phase, the groups rehearse and perform in front of an invited audience such as staff and administrators, students, community members, and families. Performances are followed by a facilitated dialogue about the content of the performance. The performances offer students a productive strategy for sharing their experiences and engaging the community in improving policies that directly impact their wellbeing. The performances offer staff, teachers, and school leadership the opportunity to witness "at risk" students as leaders and artists. Overall, the process strengthens community culture and relationships through artistic expression and connected dialogue.The students successfully completed two phases of the theater making process and performed two separate plays in front of their families, school administration and peers. Live performances for Lewiston Middle School Students: June 6th & June 8th,December 6th & December 8th MIO also created a group of 10 community artists as an advanced theater troupe to work as subcontractors to create artwork to share with the community. There were an additional 20 community artists that were contracted as subcontractors to create artwork and perform in live performances. Live Performances: June 14, 2022 - Meet and greet with Lewiston Middle School students June 17, 2022 - Juneteenth celebration in Kennedy Park: Juneteenth Ain't Enough October 27, 2022- Open Mic Night Artists also participated in peer based groups and received support through MIO's advocacy and support programs. Advocacy and Support involves helping navigate system involvement and personal and family crises by offering support with: fines, fees, and restitution; emergency funds; monthly support for emergency food and basic resources (diapers, formula); shelter; and transportation. MIO Connected 35 young people to resources for emergency food and basic resources in 2022.

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP-Maine Inside Out supports mission-aligned independent artists, organizations, and groups without 501(c)(3) tax status to apply for grant funding through formal fiscal sponsorship.Through fiscal sponsorship, MIO supports visionary artists and community organizers in the practical process of resourcing their ideas, reducing the administrative burden on emerging artists and projects and amplifying the collective community impact on social change. We meet with fiscal sponsor participants regularly to ensure alignment with the project and review expense reports.

INSIDE PROGRAM - MIO continued work inside the Androscoggin County Jail & Mountain View Correctional Facility as well as connecting with inmates who were transferred to federal facilities outside of Maine. Since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in facilities, MIO was able to work with incarcerated artists in person and virtually. In July MIO started a theater program with incarcerated artists at Mountain View Correctional Facility. The group met over a 15 week period to create and share an original piece of theater. At the beginning of the program, groups created agreements for values and conduct and engaged in ice-breakers, brainstorming, collaborative problem solving, writing exercises and basic theater skill-building exercises. The groups created and rehearsed an original theater piece and then performed the piece on November 9, in front of audiences of invited guests which included staff, administration, incarcerated individuals and those connected to the artists support systems such as their families, lawyers, probation officers and other service providers. Performances were followed by a facilitated dialogue about the content of the performance. Upon completion, successful participants engage in a culminating ceremony and receive a Letter of Completion and Certificate of Completion. Participants in the program are invited to join MIO's community programming upon release. MIO supported 10 incarcerated artists with regular phone calls for support and art sharing, re-entry support and planning, along with stipends for art creation and virtual event attendance.