Join the Michigan Justice Fund in partnership with the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP), Coldwater Kitchen documentary film, and local Detroit educator, artist, and designer Lauren Williams for a powerful exhibition supporting criminal legal reform. MJF believes some of Michigan’s most creative minds and potential are imprisoned. Mass incarceration directly and violently opposes the free movement of information, opportunities, creative solutions, and, most importantly, people. Yet, systems-impacted populations create despite and in direct response to this dehumanizing system.
The Breaking Down Walls exhibition illuminates the realities of mass incarceration and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit through the artistry of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and allies. From poignant reflections on isolation to vibrant celebrations of community, immerse yourself in a diverse array of artworks spanning various mediums.
This free exhibition will open with an evening reception on Thursday, September 12, featuring a guided conversation between PCAP staff and artists, Coldwater Kitchen cast and crew, and Lauren Williams. In addition, guests will be encouraged to write letters to incarcerated artists. The exhibition will be open through Friday, September 13 for public viewing.
Featured Creatives
Coldwater Kitchen Documentary Film
Coldwater Kitchen is a compelling social commentary inviting us to join the movement to address issues of mass incarceration. The criminal legal system – which touches 1 out of 3 Americans – can be shifted through policy reform, re-investment in communities and social services, and the stimulation of creative solutions to social challenges, public health crisis’ and poverty.
The film team is working to amplify the voices and experiences of individuals and families impacted by incarceration through it’s own advocacy campaign, a national effort engaging culinary arts and personal narratives to share deeper stories of resilience, redemption, and to catalyze social change.
To learn more about Coldwater Kitchen, CLICK HERE.
Prison for Creative Arts Project (PCAP)
The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP), founded in 1990, aims to bring together individuals impacted by the justice system with the University of Michigan community through artistic collaboration, mutual learning, and growth. A program of the Residential College, PCAP offers undergraduate courses, exhibitions, publications, a prison reentry arts program, and various events, reaching thousands annually. Committed to social justice and the belief that everyone can create art, PCAP emphasizes human connection, diversity, and artistic growth. Their newsletter, distributed to over 1,800 recipients thrice yearly, keeps incarcerated participants informed about programs and opportunities.
To learn more about the Prison for Creative Arts Project, CLICK HERE.
Lauren Williams
Lauren Williams (she/her) is a Detroit-based designer who works with visual and interactive media to understand, critique, and reimagine the ways social and economic systems distribute and exercise power over Black life and death.
Through her creative practice and research, Lauren often investigates Blackness, identity, bodiliness, and social fictions to examine how racism is felt, embodied, and embedded into institutions. Themes of trust and the transformations enabled by social engagement shape both her approaches—collaboration, facilitation, collective production—and the questions she examines surrounding power and oppression, social relations, and social movements. She has taught design + interdisciplinary studios and intensives at the College for Creative Studies, ArtCenter College of Design, CalArts and elsewhere.
To learn more about Lauren Williams, CLICK HERE.
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