Funded by the Pulitzer Center

Livin’ the Dream is a participatory media project in Humboldt County, California, undertaken in collaboration with artist’s Leslie Castellano and Laura Montagna, that engages incarcerated individuals being held at the Humboldt County Correction Facility in Eureka, CA.  In 2015, the Journal of Consulting Psychology released a study on visualization techniques in goal achievement, proving that believing in an outcome can greatly increase the capacity for achievement. The project centered around the participants identifying an aspiration they wish to pursue upon being released and constructing handmade objects, utilizing material available to them, symbolic of their goal. Each participant acted out the corresponding movements that embody their aspiration, as we documented the enactment. Additionally, collages were constructed by each participants that allowed them to further experience the landscape of their aspiration. Participants were also given weekly writing prompts to 1) Help identify what fulfillment in life looks like for participants 2) Gain a better understanding how to achieve the aspirations that they are visualizing. 3) Identify what physically, emotionally, and spiritually is holding them back.