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James “Big Jim” Brensinger

On August 5, 2019August 13, 2019 By theprisonartscoalition

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Julie Spencer

Jonathan Jacob Nurse

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PO Box 8261
Silver Spring, MD 20907

info@thejusticeartscoalition.org

the_justice_arts_coalition

Community, opportunities, and resources for artists working in & around carceral settings.
Based in Silver Spring, MD

One week from today!!!🎼🎞We're closing out ou

One week from today!!!🎼🎞We're closing out our monthlong #IronCages exhibit with a reception on Thursday, January 30th. Explore the exhibition and join us for a screening of @16barsthefilm. It's a powerful and inspiring film, offering viewers "a rare glimpse at the human stories — and songs — that are locked away in our nation’s jails and prisons” as it follows Grammy-winning recording artist Todd @speech__ Thomas into the Richmond Jail, where he collaborates on an album with four incarcerated musicians. Please stay for a panel discussion after the film. Confirmed panelists include:

Ben Harbert, @georgetownuniversity Ethnomusicologist and Director of Follow Me Down: Portraits of Louisiana Prison Musicians
Dave Sampé, Founder of @article730 and Senior Production Advisor for the @oneinfourpodcast;
Lyn Twyman, Behavioral Health Advocate and Community Policing & Re-entry Expert;
Kofi Dennis, @wolf_trap and @goartivate Teaching Artist and Director of @playforconcepts.
🎟 are required for this event and can be purchased at link in bio 👀
If you haven't yet experienced #IronCages, featuring works by 25 system-involved artists, there's still time! @lincolnscottage is open every weekday for self-guided tours & offers guided tours on Saturday and Sunday. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 📷 Photos taken at our opening reception by Sue Dorfman/Atavia.

@collabcreatedc @202creates @artofnoizedmv @boozerreddirt @washingtonpost @washingtonstudioschool @dcist @transformerdc @halimflowers @brendancanty @busboysandpoets @wpfwdc @takomaradio @mikaelalefrak @flikshop @_marcus_bullock @petworthartsdc @freemindsbookclub @oneinfourpodcast @voices_unbarred @georgetownjji @georgetownpivotprogram @publicwelfare @justiceaid @civrightscorps @endlifeimprisonment @blacklivesmatterdc @outforjusticeinc @advancementproject @impactjustice @justiceroundtable @lifeafterrelease @takecreativecontrol @fammfoundation @nonewjailsdc
#dcartscene #dmvarts #filmscreening #16bars #artforjustice #prisonart #artconnectsus #musicheals #endmassincarceration #incarceratedartists @unchainedmediacollective

Artist Spotlight Chris Schulze ⠀ "I started burn

Artist Spotlight Chris Schulze ⠀
"I started burning names into walking sticks and ended doing five foot murals on slabs of rough-hewn timber."⠀
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More on Schulze's work at https://buff.ly/2NN3dD0⠀
#creativitycantbecontained #prisonart #artforjustice #incarceratedartists #justart

#mlkday #artconnectsus #endmassincarceration #abol

#mlkday #artconnectsus #endmassincarceration #abolishprisons #solidarity

"...I see beauty in all things though once upon a

"...I see beauty in all things though once upon a time all I saw was ugliness." From artist R. Zumar's “The Becomings of a Master, Part 3: Hiatus”. Read more on our blog! ➡️link in bio. 🎨✍🏽🔥
#justiceartscoalition #incarceratedartists #prisonart
#arttransforms #artheals #endmassincarceration

Time and time again, we hear just how much it mean

Time and time again, we hear just how much it means to the incarcerated artists in our network to know that folks on the outside are seeing, appreciating, and being impacted by their artwork. The feedback the artists receive brings them hope and validation, helps them to feel less alone, and inspires them to keep creating. We want all of the artists who've entrusted their work to JAC to know that they matter, so we hope that you'll join us for ArtLinks, an evening of letter writing at @rhizome_dc . We'll view new works by several artists and share our reactions, reflections, and feedback with them by mail. 🎨✍🏽🤝💌📬
Please RSVP on FB.
#dcartscene #dcartists #artconnectsus #takomapark #takomadc #endmassincarceration

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our sold out

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our sold out opening reception for Iron Cages at @lincolnscottage! It was such a memorable night because you came with open hearts and curious minds. We’re so grateful to you, to musicians Dave Schulman & Donald Tillery for providing us with such a beautiful soundtrack for the evening, to the performers from @voices_unbarred who shared their own stories as well as messages from artists and writers still inside, to every single visual artist who entrusts us with their work and words, as well as to their loved ones on the outside, whose enthusiasm and support make our work even more meaningful. We love and cherish you all! 💕🎨🎼🎭🎤✊🏽🔥
******If you missed the opening, schedule a tour with @lincolnscottage to see the artwork, or join us for the closing reception, which will include a screening of @16barsthefilm followed by a panel discussion. Ticket link in bio!*******
Photos by Erika Berg
#JACfamilypride
#artconnectsus
#justiceartscoalition
#artforliberation
#artforjustice
#incarceratedartists
#endmassincarceration

Today! Iron Cages opening! Join us! 6:30pm!⠀ ⠀

Today! Iron Cages opening! Join us! 6:30pm!⠀
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We have sold out on eventbrite! Contact wendy@thejusticeartscoalition.org for special ticket arrangements! ⠀
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#incarceratedartists #justiceartscoalition #endmassincarceration #artforjustice#galleryopenning

Tomorrow! 6:30pm at @lincolnscottage, the opening

Tomorrow! 6:30pm at @lincolnscottage, the opening of Iron Cages. Info and registration in bio. We have sold out on eventbrite! Contact wendy@thejusticeartscoalition.org for special ticket arrangements!⠀
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#incarceratedartists #justiceartscoalition #endmassincarceration #artforjustice#galleryopenning

This Thursday! 6:30pm is our opening of 'Iron Cage

This Thursday! 6:30pm is our opening of 'Iron Cages.' The exhibition will feature the work of over 20 currently and formerly incarcerated artists in JAC’s national network. @voices_unbarred, a local prison theatre program, will perform, and there will be readings of poetry written by men and women participants in writing classes at MD prisons as well as live jazz and refreshments. Info and registration in bio.⠀
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#incarceratedartists #justiceartscoalition #endmassincarceration #artforjustice

Happy New Year!
Artist: Dana Rister. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜#2020 #livelove #incarceratedartists #artforliberation

#Repost @healingbrokencircles ・・・ WYSO story

#Repost @healingbrokencircles ・・・
WYSO story on HBC’s Theater of Conviction and KUJI Chorus collaboration. Listen to Tron and Scienze speak directly about their experience playing Hamilton and Burr.
#art #healing #learning #thriving #artforjustice #prisonart #theatreinprison #hamilton #linmanuelmiranda #cjreform #wyso #reentry

Bubblefly, Bubble Flower, Cubic Pinwheel and Untit

Bubblefly, Bubble Flower, Cubic Pinwheel and Untitled, by Chris Schulze. We wish you could feel the texture of these through your screen! Amazingly detailed, vibrant pieces of work. Zoom in! Chris writes, “I’ve been drawing for five years and painting for two. Singing/songwriting, piano and guitar have been my primary creative outlet since I was seven. I picked up photography shortly after that. While in Boy Scouts, I taught myself solar pyrography where I’d draw on wood using the sun and a magnifying glass. I started burning names into walking sticks and ended doing five foot murals on slabs of rough-hewn timber.

Upon coming to prison, I took a drawing class but was uninspired by the portraits they were asking us to copy. Then I read “Struck by Genius” by Jason Padgett who suffered a head injury (as I did) and began doing complex mathematical art (which I was blown away by!). I intuitively just got his artwork and copied his most complex design easily. I then let my mind take off and envision designs of my own. To me, they strike both an aesthetic as well as a cerebral chord. Not everyone gets the mathematical beauty of my work but at least they recognize some pleasant aesthetics.

I’ve taken my art so far from Mr. Padgett’s original designs as to be almost unrecognizable (IMHO). With my limited access to resources, I’ve never really seen anything like what I do. If there are similar examples out there, I’d love to see them. I call my style of art ‘Geomterix’.”
🔥💯🎨
Check out our online galleries (➡️ link in bio) for more of Chris’s work, including some gorgeous landscapes!
#artistsoninstagram #mathematicalart #geometric #jasonpadgett #incarceratedartists #justiceartscoalition #endmassincarceration #artforjustice

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating! 🎄 T

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating! 🎄
This can be a such a difficult time of year for people who are incarcerated and their loved ones on the outside. If you know someone who’s directly impacted by incarceration, make sure to send a little extra dose of love their way.
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Image: Holiday Truck by Joshua Earls. Lots more of Joshua’s work will be going up in our online galleries later today, so be sure to take a look! 🎨
#painting #holidayart #holidaypainting #truckart #incarceratedartists #prisonart #artforliberation #artfrominside #artconnectsus #incarceration #endmassincarceration

#Repost @hakimbe, who we had the pleasure of inter

#Repost @hakimbe, who we had the pleasure of interviewing for our latest blog post and newsletter — ・・・
If poetry is, indeed, an excavation of our insides outside of us...than I am grateful to be able to work with folks tending to their insides inside. @the_justice_arts_coalition ✊🏽❤📖 #CitizenArtist https://thejusticeartscoalition.org/2019/12/22/teaching-artist-spotlight-hakim-bellamy/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

So grateful to all of the wonderful, creative volu

So grateful to all of the wonderful, creative volunteers who came out this morning to make holiday cards for the incarcerated artists in our network! An extra-huge thank you to Red Dirt Studios for partnering with and hosting us. 💜
#artconnectsus #artforjustice #endmassincarceration

Come join your friends and neighbors for this awes

Come join your friends and neighbors for this awesome card making event with Justice Arts Coalition and red dirt studio. We’ll be here until 1230!
And if you miss this one, stay tuned for more events upcoming...

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