Persisters - 30 Imprisoned Women In Louisiana Have Their Stories Retold As Modern Art | Alternative Fruit

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”


― Fyodor Dostoevsky


Visitors to the Ford Foundation Gallery in New York can see an exhibition of art dedicated to imprisoned women. (Per)Sister – Incarcerated Women Of Louisiana examines the lives and stories of 30 women, who have spent time in jail including many who are still under lock and key. More than 30 artists took the job of creating works based on the personal testimonies of the women.


Media, Politics and Penal Reform: Influencing Women's Punishment (Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology) by Gemma Birkett – View book


By showing the stories of women in prison as art, it is hoped that the choices made and the societal issues that led to incarceration can be explored and avoided in future. When many people see the criminal before the human being, a person's entire identity can be tarnished by one act of thoughtlessness or desperation. These works of art scratch off the surface provided by the justice system to look at who these women really are.


Coaching Behind Bars: Facing Challenges and Creating Hope in a Womens Prison by Clare McGregor – View book


In the USA, women's jail term sentencing has grown by 40% more than the male population. This is an alarming statistic which many feel is being ignored. Why are women finding themselves in criminal activity more in today's society? What changed? Is it a simple sign that women are finding themselves as empowered and capable as men these days, and for some that means breaking the rules? The gender stereotype of criminal activity is male in many people's eyes. Is that actually a sign of dysfunction?


Orange Is the New Black: My Time in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman – View book


By allowing the wider population to look at the lives of prisoners through the lens of art, society as a whole has an opportunity to learn and adapt their thinking to relate to prisoners and ex-convicts in a way that sees through the legal system. People do change and they do show remorse, they have lives that extend beyond the activity that put them in prison, and most importantly, unless you work in prisons, it's not your job to look at them as a prisoner. They're just people.


Visitors can see the exhibition from 21st February - 9th March 2020.


Via Colorlines