Finding Freedom from the Inside: Stories Shaped In and Out Incarceration

Please join our community in celebrating artists and their work by attending Finding Freedom from the Inside: Stories Shaped In and Out of Incarceration!

A powerful and transformative art show featuring works created by artists at San Quentin State Prison and Central California Women’s Facility. This exhibition offers a rare and intimate glimpse into incarcerated individuals’ thoughts, emotions, and experiences behind the wall.

Each piece in the exhibit tells a story, capturing the complex realities of confinement while offering hope, insight, and a deeper connection between the viewer and the artist. The show aims to challenge perceptions, ignite conversations about incarceration, and highlight the transformative potential of art in even the most restricted environments.

By showcasing the talent and vision of incarcerated individuals, Finding Freedom from the Inside: Stories Shaped In and Out of Incarceration highlights the importance of creative expression as a form of freedom, healing, and empowerment.

This event raises critical funds for incarcerated artists by auctioning their creations, made during their time in California prisons. All proceeds from art sales—100%—will go directly to the artists, either through their families or commissary accounts. Additionally, donations will help provide stipends to artists whose work doesn’t sell, with remaining funds supporting Empowerment Avenue and ABO Comix, two incredible organizations advocating and uplifting incarcerated artists.

This event will take place on October 19th, 2024 from 5:30-9:00 pm at La Peña Cultural Center at 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705. Food will be available for sale inside La Peña!

See you there!

Continuing Abolitionist Work Through Art: Organizers’ Vision

Driven by a commitment to abolitionist work in the Bay Area, system-impacted, formerly -incarcerated organizers and UC Berkeley student organizers embarked on planning this art show to reveal what is often hidden from society. While we navigate life in a so-called “free” world, thousands of individuals remain locked away in prisons, separated from their families, and denied their freedom. Our loved ones and community members are behind bars, out of sight, but never forgotten.

As organizers, we aim to spotlight the remarkable talent often overlooked—the incarcerated artists who continue to create powerful, masterful work from within the prison walls. These artists embody resilience and creativity despite the harsh realities of confinement, and their art speaks volumes about their experiences and dreams.

We organize this event out of love for our communities, for those we have lost to incarceration, and for those who continue to be targeted by policing and the prison system. We approach this project with deep respect, using the power and privilege we hold as “people on the outside” to support our incarcerated communities in any way we can.