With art therapy proving its effectiveness in prisons, it has also led to inmates becoming artists as well, making use of their incarcerated time while also channeling their emotions and experiences. The art they make finds a way to travel beyond the brick walls and metal bars; with important messages about their stories—in the prison or not—this art has also been put on display by a variety of organizations. To spread awareness this holiday season with the opportunity to purchase and support some prisoners with legal financial obligations, supplies, and life in confinement, these three major organizations in this field are showing off their work.
This organization has a central online gallery displaying the pieces from inmates. Every piece displays the artist’s name, the ID number for their prison, and the address if possible; this makes it so that the artist can be contacted directly by inquiring buyers, and they can also set up commissions. In doing so, this organization gives inmates a sense of freedom, purpose, and a way to earn money. Moreover, it also provides a positive outlet to express themselves to curb recidivism rates. The money provided by the sales helps to do this; as most inmate jobs pay less than a dollar a day, there is no way to save, pay off legal fees, or survive decently in prison. But through the marketplace, inmates can use the sales to pay their “Crime Victim Compensation, restitution, reparation, court costs, court fines, court fees, and all other financial obligations incurred as a result of criminal conviction… buying more art supplies to further express themselves positively, or simply improving their lives of confinement” (Inmate Artwork). As for the art itself, it ranges from beadwork done by Jesse Alderman to poems by Larry Blackwell—all of which are cataloged and promoted through this organization.
One of the testimonials from the Justice Arts Coalition (JAC) by inmate and artist Gary reads “After nearly 30 years of incarceration, the feelings of benign forgotten weigh heavily. We are the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the cast-aways.” But by having his art promoted, sold, and cherished, Gary equates JAC to “a seamstress, sticking me and other prisoners back into the tapestry of society.” For inmates like Gary, JAC provides a platform for their art while also connecting them with outside artists, teachers, their families, and anyone interested in the role of art in transformative justice and society as a whole. This organization has everything from recurring blog posts to local events to galleries online with the art; they also provide an extensive list of resources for those looking to get involved or those interested in art, incarceration, prison reform, etc. Since JAC is Maryland-based, they hold exhibitions of art throughout the DMV area. Make sure to check them out!
Rather than an organization, Windows on Death Row: Art From Inside and Outside the Prison Walls is an exhibition curated by political cartoonist Patrick Chappatte and journalist Anne-Frederique Widmann. The exhibit holds over 60 pieces of work from political cartoonists but also death row inmates to provide a variety of perspectives. The two “hope to stimulate conversation on an issue that touches politics, race, morality, and the question of equality under the law” (Windows on Death Row). They view art as a tool for social awareness, especially as a tool to analyze capital punishment from those who are on death row. Originally, this exhibit opened at the University of South California in 2015, and then it went on tour from UNC-Chapel Hill to Oslo, Norway; it even inspired the creators to continue this concept in a comic series in the New York Times called “Inside Death Row” (Patrick Chappatte 2016) and a documentary called “Free Men” (Anne-Frédérique Widmann 2018). On the website, both the inmate art and political cartoons are free to view, and the exhibition’s site even includes interviews with a variety of perspectives on capital punishment. All in all, this exhibition was designed to show art from inside prisons that are all about prisons, and it feeds into the timely debate on whether or not capital punishment should be allowed.
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