Artists in prison share works in Locked Up, at Gallery Gachet to August 19
Subtitled The Soul Speaks Out, the exhibition features paintings, sculptures, soap carvings, poetry, and more, created by incarcerated people
Owl and eagle paintings by an nonymous person in prison. Photo by UBC.
Gallery Gachet presents Locked Up: The Soul Speaks Out to August 19
AFTER THE PANDEMIC took hold in 2020, a team of researchers at UBC School of Nursing delivered more than 750 “art and reciprocity kits” to people in prison throughout B.C. and the Yukon. Many of the pieces that came out of the project are now being featured in the Gallery Gachet exhibition Locked Up: The Soul Speaks Out.
It all started through the efforts of the UBC Action, Reciprocity, Transformation (ART) & Justice Team, led by nursing professor Helen Brown and interdisciplinary studies PhD candidate Kelsey Timler in partnership with the Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Region. The group started providing art kits to people disproportionately impacted by the Canadian criminal justice system in hopes of helping improve their mental well-being during COVID-19. The kits contained journals, sketchpads, and other art and writing supplies, along with messages of support, Indigenous teachings, and prompts for creative activity.
The project, which focused primarily on Indigenous peoples and people with mental illness, was guided by Indigenous Elders and previously incarcerated activists. Hundreds of pieces of art were created. They include works on canvas, sketches, sculptures, soap carvings, poetry, and more.
For more information, see Gallery Gachet.
Indigenous medicine wheel surrounded by animals. Photo via UBC.
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