A small group of national academic, arts, justice, and foundation leaders met over the course of two days to engage in a transformational conversation; they aimed to develop a new model of social work practice linked specifically to arts and cultural institutions. In particular, the group sought to determine if these partnerships and programs are meaningful, replicable, and sustainable in supporting former prisoners and other hard-to-reach populations. This conference was inspired by the Staging program—a collaboration between the Pulitzer, the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, and Prison Performing Arts—which targeted formerly incarcerated individuals and homeless veterans who were seeking employment skills and other professional support.
