Motus Theater to Receive National Creative Expression Award from the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice

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Award recognizes Motus Theater’s autobiographical monologues, including the JustUs Project, which shares stories by formerly incarcerated leaders to inspire dialogue, healing, and action toward true justice.

View Motus Theater’s Acceptance Video Here.

BOULDER, Colo. — Motus Theater will be recognized with the Creative Expression Award from the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ) at its 10th National Conference on Community and Restorative Justice, taking place July 7–10, 2026, in New Orleans.

The national award honors the role of art, storytelling, culture, and creative practice in advancing healing, justice, and community transformation. NACRJ’s recognition of Motus Theater celebrates the organization’s JustUs Project, a multi-year autobiographical storytelling initiative that supports community leaders impacted by carceral systems to tell artfully crafted personal stories that expose the devastating impact of the criminal legal system and inspire action toward a vision of true justice.

Launched in 2019, Motus Theater’s JustUs Project includes three subprojects: JustUs League, featuring monologues from men impacted by incarceration; Boundless Truth, featuring stories from Black women leaders who were formerly incarcerated; and Youth Behind & Beyond Bars, featuring adults who survived incarceration as youth.

Together, these performances lift the curtain on the realities of the criminal legal system while centering the leadership and lived experience of people most directly impacted by incarceration. Through Motus’ signature autobiographical monologue development process, storytellers develop personal narratives through months of writing, collective discussion, performance training, and trauma-informed support, preparing them to become story ambassadors for the millions of people impacted by carceral systems.

“This award belongs first to the JustUs monologists, who trusted Motus with their stories and then chose to share them as a public gift,” said Kirsten Wilson, Founder and Artistic Executive Director of Motus Theater. “Their courage helps audiences move beyond statistics, stereotypes, and punitive narratives, and toward a deeper understanding of what safety, accountability, repair, and belonging can look like. We are grateful to NACRJ for recognizing creative expression as essential to the work of community and restorative justice.”

Motus Theater’s JustUs performances have toured across Colorado and the United States, engaging with prosecutors, judges, attorneys general, law enforcement officials, legislators, corrections leaders, faith leaders, advocates, artists, and community members. In Motus’ innovative performance model, over 50 public officials and civic leaders have been invited to stand on stage with JustUs monologists and co-read their stories aloud: an embodied act of listening that asks leaders to step, however briefly, into the lived experience of people impacted by the systems they help shape.

In 2026, Motus Theater brought Youth Behind & Beyond Bars to the Colorado Capitol, where legislators and advocates heard directly from men incarcerated in Colorado as children. The performance engaged the long-term impacts of youth incarceration and the possibilities created when policy invests in prevention, healing, and community-based solutions.

One Youth Behind & Beyond Bars storyteller reflected on the purpose of the work: “Everything that we’re doing together through Motus is to stop our community from going through the trauma we’ve been through. To tell my story, as something to learn from, is all I could ask for.”

Continuing in this effort in September, Motus’ Youth Behind & Beyond Bars storytellers will perform for over 1000 professionals at the Colorado State Public Defender Annual Conference, taking place September 27 in Denver, Colorado.

Motus Theater extends deep gratitude to the JustUs monologists and storytellers, collaborating artists, community partners, staff, board, funders, and civic leaders who have helped bring these stories to audiences across the country since 2019.

ABOUT MOTUS THEATER: The mission of Motus Theater is to create original theater to facilitate dialogue on critical issues of our time. We aim to use the power of art to build alliances across diverse segments of our community and country. Motus Theater’s specialty is developing artfully crafted autobiographical monologues with leaders on the frontlines of violence in the U.S., putting them center stage as the protagonists in the American drama.

Motus has three touring projects: In the ImmigrantAmerica project, young leaders with DACA share poignant personal stories to interrupt dehumanizing portrayals of immigrants by encouraging thoughtful engagement on the challenges facing the undocumented community and the assets immigrants bring to our country. Motus’ JustUs project presents powerful monologues from formerly incarcerated people to encourage community conversations about criminal legal reform and true justice. TRANSformative Stories and What Love Requires feature stories of people who are transgender or nonbinary and their parents. More information at motustheater.org