My City May 2023

MYARTS

“SELF PORTRAIT: A TRIBUTE TO NORMAN ROCKWELL” ROBERT TATE, 2022

“LOVE SHARED OVER DISTANCE AND TIME” BRIAN BOODY, 2022

sales but only for the window of the main exhibition,” says Unrath. Kicked off on March 24, the Exhibi tion of Artists in Michigan Prisons en compassed much more than art. It was a way for families of the incarcerated to view the talent of their loved ones and to speak about them and their works. The exhibition opened with a celebration and keynote presentation, followed by a Public Resource and Awareness Fair, where people learned about some of the issues of mass incar ceration in the United States, reentry and available resources. Next, an artist talk was held when released artists spoke about their life behind bars and the art they have made and continue to make. Many of the speakers are made up of PCAP’s Linkage community – an alliance of system-impacted artists who support artist development and opportunities. After the visual opening,

the writers then have their day with a literature review and the launch of the PCAP yearly story anthology made up entirely of stories written by incarcer ated persons. The first week concluded with speaker Amanda Alexander, Ex ecutive Director of the Detroit Justice Center. Many of the same festivities are planned for the “Shared Humanity” exhibit in Flint. “In Flint, we are going to open with a reception from 6-9pm on August 11 at GFAC,” says Unrath. “Next, we will host a special storytelling event when artists can tell stories about their lives and about producing art in a correctional facility. I guess you could say it’s similar to ‘The Moth’ on NPR.” Also in Flint on August 31, the PCAP will screen the documentary “Master of Light” chronicling a formerly incarcerated artist's journey home to paint his family members and answer to his past.

The project started years ago by Buzz Alexander and his wife continues to pro vide opportunity and salvation to those who may never have the chance to dis cover, cultivate, or show their creative tal ent. Many talented individuals will never be released from prison and this may be their only chance to express themselves to the world. “Many of our artists have said that being creative, finding and producing art while in prison was life-changing and often, life-saving,” states Unrath. The PCAP “Shared Humanity” exhibit will run August 11 through September 1 at the Greater Flint Arts Council Gallery in Downtown Flint. During the exhi bition, art will be for sale with proceeds supporting PCAP programs. If you would like to support the Prison Creative Arts Project at the University of Michigan, please visit leadersandbest. umich.edu/find/#!/scu/lsa/pcap. For more information, visit lsa.umich.edu/pcap

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