IVY MATHIS
See, Listen, Act. 2023, Original dance choreography. Music by Fearless Soul, written and performed by Rachael Schroeder, composed by Patrick Rundblad. Videography by Christine “Cfreedom” Brown.
Creatively interprets the experience of Ne’Vaeh:
“For instance...people don't like the US Capitol, because it's so whitewashed, but that doesn't mean you can't be involved with it, because sometimes you've got to work from the insides.”
At the age of 17, I was given a LIFE sentence. After serving 26 years, I was released December 11, 2018, at the age of 43. I not only left prison with a heart to reach back and help my sisters that were still incarcerated, but also help the youth to understand—“in the blink of an eye, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can cost you more than you are willing to pay and keep you longer than you want to stay.”
Meeting Ne’Vaeh was not only a privilege but an opportunity for me to share in our future. The youth—telling her story is A MUST!!!!
Ivy Mathis (b. circa 1975, Louisiana; based in Baton Rouge, LA) captivates audi-ences with storytelling and movement that blends African tradition with contemporary styles of dance such as hip hop. Her work has toured in special theatrical productions by The Graduates, a performing arts troupe which was formed at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, and has been presented at the Newcomb Art Museum, Contemporary Art Center and the Ford Foundation Gallery. Mathis was the youngest woman serving a life sentence in Louisiana when she entered jail as a teenager. She served 26 years of a juvenile life sentence and was paroled in 2018—as Louisiana’s first female juvenile lifer to be released on parole following a 2017 Supreme Court decision about the unconstitutionality of life sentences for juvenile offenders. In 2020 Mathis was appointed by Governor Edwards to the state Council on the Children of Incarcerated Parents and Caregivers.