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| Michele D'Acosta |
Practivism Questionnaire
How old are you, if you don’t mind?
I was born in January 1965!
What is the main focus of your practivism at this time and how does that manifest?
The main focus of my practivism at this time is creating artwork and making documentary films as a catalyst for positive social change. The way that this aim manifests itself at this time is that I am working with an organisation called The Peace Project which is an international collaborative art competition and exhibition created to connect peace-minded individuals everywhere. All net proceeds from sales of The Peace Project artwork and related products will be used in Sierra Leone to provide healthcare, education and other services and infrastructure designed to help people sustain themselves and their families long term.
What route did you take to get here?
Well my practivism journey began, in earnest, in 1989 when I started working in the Press Office of the UK branch of Amnesty International. At that time, I was writing articles about Amnesty's Prisoners of Conscience campaign, and their anti-death penalty campaign, and had the honor of meeting a nun called Sister Helen Prejean who was based in New Orleans and campaigned tirelessly on behalf of men on Death Row in Louisiana, many of whom were innocent or, had been sentenced as minors, to the death penalty.
Fast forward to 2010, where the most recent leg of my practivism journey is currently in progress....! I am a member of an LA-based online artists community called The Whole 9 which was founded by Lisa Schultz about four years ago. I found The Whole 9 via Google in 2009, and that's how I got involved with my current practivist project, which is The Peace Project.
*Note from Michele - Sister Helen Prejean's work was the subject of the Tim Robbins-directed film Dead Man Walking starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.
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