IDENTITIES: Selected Work by Incarcerated Artists, 2017-2019, offers powerful, personal visions of hope, yearning, childhood and generational trauma, and empathy by artists incarcerated at California Institution for Men (CIM), the state prison in Chino, California.           

The exhibit, provided from the collection held by UrbanMission Community Partners’ InsideOut Art runs virtually through September 30, 2020, at The dA Center for the Arts. It marks the first collaboration between The dA and UMCP.         

 Rev. Nora Jacob, UMCP’s Acting Executive Director and Restorative Justice Director and local residents who have lived experience of imprisonment were those who chose the art to include. They selected thirteen (13) paintings in acrylic, pen, and/or watercolor by nine (9)  incarcerated artists to be  featured.  

Rev. Nora Jacob has co-facilitated Restorative Justice accountability and healing groups at CIM since 2014, currently interrupted by COVID-19 access restrictions. Shortly after she began at CIM, people incarcerated there began to show her their art works in progress; by 2016, this had turned into a coordinated, collaborative effort to encourage incarcerated artists, with logistical support from the prison.

Thank you to Rev. Nora Jacob for organizing and submitting the exceptional information for this exhibition IDENTITIES.

Providing access to all the arts in an equitable and inclusive space for all ages is a priority for the dA. We recognize that the ARTS offer a level playing field for all and that the ARTS are a powerful tool that tell our stories which helps us to better understand ourselves and the possibilities for the world around us.  The artists, the pairings, and the narrative in this exhibition are a testimony to how the ARTS ignite transformational and essential learning, healing, and yes, imagining. With Gratitude, dA Team.

Thank you to everyone who worked creatively in this time of Covid to make this installation happen while prioritizing safe social distancing.