The Rendering Justice exhibition, curated by artist Jesse Krimes, is an expansive examination of mass incarceration and an unflinching depiction of contemporary America. The artworks are part of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Reimagining Reentry Fellowship program, which supports formerly incarcerated artists in the creation of public art projects. Works included feature varied responses to the displacement of bodies and revocation of autonomy entailed in incarceration. The works affirm how artists maintain a sense of identity, regain their agency, and grapple with coercive forces until—and after—they reenter society. Rendering Justice is created in partnership with the African American Museum in Philadelphia and is made possible with a grant from the Art for Justice Fund.

Mass incarceration in the United States reflects our nation’s fixation on confinement and punishment, which is unmatched internationally and unprecedented in recorded history. The persistence of mass incarceration, in turn, relies on ignoring and erasing the stories of human beings upon whom the criminal justice system inflicts unspeakable suffering.

The Rendering Justice exhibition features a cohort of nine artists from across the country whose work highlights a broad range of issues bound in mass incarceration, with a particular focus on Philadelphia. While the number of people jailed and imprisoned by Philadelphia’s criminal justice system has declined dramatically in recent years, the city remains one of the most heavily incarcerated in the nation.

This exhibition focuses on rendering visible the people and perspectives hidden by the criminal justice system. The featured works constitute a broad, multifaceted response to mass incarceration using multiple mediums including video, sculpture, painting, photography, installations, poetry readings, and performances. At its core, the exhibition is not only a condemnation of the prison system, it is also an affirmation of the resilience and dignity of people who remain behind bars, and those who have come home. Rendering Justice helps reaffirm a larger truth: vast and rich human potential, artistic or otherwise, is wasted when 2.3 million people are behind bars.

The works displayed include original artwork from Reimagining Reentry fellows, created through workshops with men currently incarcerated at SCI Phoenix, women incarcerated at Riverside Correctional Facility, young men and women in Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice Guild and Art Education Programs, and formerly incarcerated members from the larger community. Artists include Russell Craig, Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar, Michelle Daniel (Jones) and Deborah Willis, PhD, Mary Elizabeth Enoch Baxter, James “Yaya” Hough, Jared Owens, and Michael “O.G. Law” Ta’Bon.

Creativity gives us the ability to reimagine the world around us, and the criminal justice system is no exception—but the individuals directly impacted by our criminal justice system are best positioned to lead conversations and to find solutions to the problem of over-incarceration. The Reimagining Reentry Fellowship funds selected artists impacted by the justice system to examine the problems posed by mass incarceration on both a personal and a systemic level, illuminating the human cost and potential solutions.

In the News  

‘Rendering Justice’ at African American Museum features formerly incarcerated artists – WHYY

Philly’s African American Museum Teams Up With Mural Arts for ‘Rendering Justice’ – NBC10