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“Glow Home” Opens October 4th – Event Series Overview

For the 3rd year running, Let’s Get Free teams up with Boom Concepts for a prison justice art fundraiser and series of events. 

Artists were asked to create work around the ideas of home and relationships to create a show that encapsulates the feeling of home: What does home look like? Feel like? A space? A state of mind? 

The call was to create things that literally glowed. People were encouraged to create work with ships and pun off concepts like relationSHIP, friendSHIP, leaderSHIP, etc.

Glow Home is an homage to friends old and new recently released from prison and a prayer that our loved ones still behind bars will be home soon. There will be an altar where you can leave something for a loved one who you wish to come home. 

Over 60 artists from both sides of the prison walls have submitted provocative pieces utilizing ceramics, photography, textiles, beadwork, silk screen, collage, stained glass, digital drawing, water colors etc. There are close to 100 pieces of art up for auction benefiting the work of this local prison advocacy group. The opening and auction will take place on October 4th from 6 – 10pm with the auction closing at 9pm. The show will stay up through October 26th.

Click on photos below a for a quick preview slide show.
Click here for more information on Glow Home

Overview of October Events

Gallery Hours for Glow Home  October 4th – 26th
Gallery Hours are every Thursday thru Saturday 1- 7pm and Sundays 1-4pm
Gallery Hours are suspended during events. Check Boom’s Calendar 

Liberate our Imaginations:  A Vital Step Towards a World Without PrisonsIMG_7463
October 12th – 12 – 3pm – Saturday
A 3 hour participatory workshop With Kempis Ghani Songster & etta cetera

Back by popular demand, Ghani Songster returns from Philly to lead an interactive space in effort to free ourselves from the mental chains  that inhibit our progress. Ghani believes that our salvation hinges on our ability to liberate our imagination. etta says, “It’s gonna be like going to the gym for your mind.” How do we stay connected to the bigger movement of abolition?

Listen to Ghani shares 5 Lessons of the Geese from last years workshop.

The event is free but please rsvp letsgetfreepa@gmail.com
Snacks will be provided


Blountly Speaking:
Lifting Up Women in Prison

Words and Songs by Naomi Blount, (Pending Travel Permission but we are speaking it into existence!) Followed by a Panel Discussion:  Impact of DA’s Office on Incarcerated Women with Lisa Middleman and local community leaders.

October 19th – 12pm – 3pm  Saturday @ Boom Concepts – 5139 Penn Ave
Free Lunch served at 1 pm

Naomi Blount, 69, is the second Pennsylvania woman to receive commutation in nearly three decades after serving 35 years of a life sentence. Released this past July, Naomi will share reflections of her experiences from prison to the commutation process as well as lift up the women she left behind.  Community leaders and Lisa Middleman, candidate for District Attorney, will then convene for a panel to speak on the impact that the DA’s office has on people impacted by the criminal injustice system. The event will conclude with a musical performance by Naomi.

The event is free but please rsvp letsgetfreepa@gmail.com


October Monthly Sustainer Drive

Collective Donations towards Collective Liberation!

Sign Up to be a sustaining donor during the month of October to help us reach our goal of 50 new monthly sustainers! You will receive a special Thank You Gift of your choosing including limited edition artwork or a bouncing baby house plant (Pittsburgh only:)

IMG_7433
Jade and Hoya babies will be gifted to people signing up at levels $ 20 & $25

Monthly sustainers are a critical part of community organizing and help us gather unrestricted funds. This money is used for: direct assistance to people in prison and returning citizens (hard to write a grant for that) stamps, printing newsletters and commutation kits, speaker stypens as well as transportation costs to visit prisons, the state capitol and faraway meetings and conferences. 

Our goal is to sign up: 

20 Sustainers @ $5 a month
15 Sustainers @ $10 a month
10 Sustainers @ $15 a month
5 Sustainers @ $20 a month
5 Sustainers @ $25 a month

If achieved would raise collectively $575 a Month. Simply click the donate button and check the “recurring donation box”


Come to Harrisburg with the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration

Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration(CABDI)
Day of Action to End DBI & Heal Communities 
October 23rd – 7am – 7pm Wednesday in Harrisburg
Sign up for Vans from Pittsburgh by filling out this form

Categories
Art & Storytelling Events

Letters & Liberation 2018 Art Show

Letters & Liberation
An Art Show and Fundraiser for Prison Justice

—————————— Facebook Event

Let’s Get Free, The Women & Trans Prisoner Defense Committee, teams up with Boom Concepts for the 2nd year in a row displaying a new exhibit called Letters and Liberation.

Over 40 artists from both sides of the prison walls have submitted provocative pieces utilizing ceramics, photography, textiles, silk screen, collage, stained glass, drawing, etc. There are close to 100 pieces of art up for auction benefiting the work of this local prison advocacy group. The opening and auction will take place on July 6 from 6 – 10pm with the auction closing at 9pm. The show will stay up through July 29th with gallery hours on Saturdays from 12 – 4pm.

Flower Letters with a Felt Chain by Cris Amann

Letters are an everyday part of being in prison or having a loved one incarcerated. Letters are instrumental in organizing for justice with people in prison. Letters are conduits for relationships. Letters can be the only tangible thread connecting people to their loved ones. And if you don’t throw those letters away for 18 years, you can collect quite a few. Inspiration for this show came when etta cetera, co-founder of Let’s Get Free, was searching for a creative way to release the hundreds and hundreds of letters she has amassed over years of maintaining friendships with people in prison and organizing for justice in the prisons. “I didn’t want to just throw them away. I like the idea of transforming them into art and letting that energy go.”

Ceramic Bowl by Paula Levin

Not all of the art is made from letters. Some of the art is inspired by reading letters. Paula Levin created a ceramic bowl after reading a letter by Khalifa Diggs. The bowl is glazed on the outside weaving Khalifa’s words with prison bars, “I have seen the ancestors and I have got to get to….where?”  Khalifa passed away last December after spending close to 40 years in prison. This is why people call life sentences in PA death sentences. People are dying. Let’s Get Free is one of the founding groups of the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration West (CADBIWest). Part of the proceeds from last year’s benefit went to pay for traveling expenses for many members to attend CADBI’s statewide rallies, meetings with lawmakers, the juvenile lifer day at Muncy prison, hearings for juvenile lifers, and statewide strategy meetings.

Making Connections Between Border Walls and Prison Walls

Shayla, Luz and Alex at a vigil for their dad Martín Esquivel-Hernandez

The youngest participants to submit art created out of letters are Shayla (age 13) and Luz (age 10), the daughters of MartÍn Esquivel- Hernandez. On May 1st, 2016 MartÍn Esquivel-Hernandez led the annual Mayday March for Workers and Immigrant Rights in Pittsburgh. He held a large banner with his wife that read, “Not One More Deportation.” On May 2nd, 2016, MartÍn was taken by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) at 6am in front of his family. They have not seen or hugged him since. Martin wrote this letter while he was detained for 9 months before being deported, and addressed it to ICE. His daughters Shayla and Luz redacted the letter by blocking out many words to create a new letter addressed to anyone in positions of power to stop separating families.

Shayla is tired of phone calls being the only way to be with her father. Luz barely remembers what he looks like. His wife, Alma, hasn’t seen him in over 2 years. And Alex, MartÍn’s youngest son (age 6), talks about him everyday. There is no hope for his return to the US, and his wife and children cannot visit him in Mexico. Cases like this are happening everyday, in Pittsburgh, nationwide, and worldwide. Families are being destroyed and separated. Parents are being forced to go to sleep, forever apart and without their children and families. Children are growing up in torn-apart families, surrounded by trauma. This isn’t right. Another world is possible.

[For more information on MartÍn, please this in-depth article written by Ryan Deto]

Have you ever thought about how militarized borders create open air prisons? In addition to Shayla and Luz’s letter, which demonstrates the similarities between the struggles of family members separated by prison walls and border walls, there are quite a few artists represented from México.  We are thrilled to exhibit two Puebla City artists, Esmeralda Juarez and Oscar Garcia, who both designed unique linoleum cuts especially for this show. More linoleum cuts from Andrea Narno and Grabiel of the radical print shop Escuela de Cultura Popular Martires del 68  in México City. This community art space was born out of the student uprisings in 68. Lastly, from México we will feature a portrait of Mumia Abu-Jamal by Zamer, who created art in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s birthday, which was celebrated in April across the world and in México City! Free Mumia!

Artists on the Inside

Let’s Have a Conversation by Bruce Bainbridge

From Muncy prison, Amanda Hein sent a very detailed embroidery of a typewriter reading the words, “I’m writing home to tell you.”  From Graterford prison, Bruce Bainbridge sent a small table with four chairs made out of brightly colored popsicle sticks. He has called this piece Let’s Have a Conversation.  From Fayette Prison Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli has submitted a captivating portrait of Malcolm X. In different shades of pencil, Malcolm’s face is constructed with words like “sister, community, love, strength, change, movement.”

James “Ya Ya” Hough  has only one year left of his juvenile life sentence.  He is returning to Pittsburgh in 2019 and hopes to pursue a career as an artist. The piece he submitted is a  mixed-media painting which incorporates a peach pit. Let’s Get Free is so excited to showcase his work and we can’t wait to welcome him home.

Janet Africa by Donna Martorano

Members of Let’s Get Free met Donna Martorano and Marsha Scaggs last summer on the first group visit to the Cambridge Springs prison. Marsha and her roomate Rachel submitted two charming tiny cross stitches one reading “Live, Love, Laugh” and the other reading “Let’s Get Free”.  Donna submitted 5 pieces including two large landscape paintings and two portraits of Janet Africa, one in pencil and one in charcoal. Janet Africa is a member of the Move organization and has been in prison since the 80s. The MOVE Organization is a group of mostly black, freedom- and nature- loving activists who were living in Philadelphia from the early 1970s to early 80s. The Philadelphia police department dropped a bomb on their house from a helicopter on May 13, 1985, silencing their central figure, John Africa. Did you know that Pennsylvania incarcerates the country’s most political prisoners?

Local Artists Create for the Cause

Abolitionist Medallion by kiln tender ceramics

Kiln Tender Ceramics has created a limited edition of cast ceramic prison abolitionist medallions inspired by 18th century coins made by abolitionists of slavery. Larger than a silver dollar, these ceramic pieces fit in the palm of your hand with one side reading “ Until we all are free” with hands breaking out of chains, while the other side features 3 famous abolitionists of past and present – Harriet Tubman, Angela Davis, and Patrisse Kahn-Cullors.

Jenn Gooch has created a weaving that stretches 10 feet wide utilizing over 30 letters from prisoners. While working on the piece that spells out “REDEMPTION,” Jenn posted on instagram, “ Tragic weft. Weaving with strips of letters from prisoners for @womeninprison‘s upcoming show. The heaviest thing I’ve ever woven. The weight of these words, and their sound—it’s crushing and deafening, yet paper-thin.”

Sue Abramson who used the letters from prisoners as negatives. Placing the letter in its entirety directly onto photo paper reveals compelling black and white scribblings that almost look like a new language.

Lataya Johnson, an artist from McKeesport, contributed a hanging lantern made completely with letters.

Photo by Juliette Angotti

Juliette Angotti, a french photographer living in Delaware, corresponded with 5 people incarcerated in Pennsylvania and asked them three questions:

   If you were a photographer or had access to a camera, what would you photograph?

     What images define liberation for you?

     What do you miss most from outside of prison?

They responded and Juliette took photos based on those replies. 5 photographs from this series and responses from the people incarcerated will be on display.

Collaboration with Avis Lee from LifeLines

Lifelines is a Philadelphia based media/cultural project conducted in extensive, long-term collaboration with eight people serving Life Sentences Without Parole or Death By Incarceration sentences in Pennsylvania. Lifelines created an exhibit called How Are We Free. This visual art exhibit that explores the nature of freedom and confinement through creative collaboration between people who have been sentenced to die in prison and visual artists outside the prison walls. Lifelines is lending the exhibit several pieces to display in Pittsburgh!

Last year’s art fundraiser entitled Contraband was SO SUCCESSFUL! Over 100 pieces of art  sold and $5,000 was raised. A new program called Operation Break Bread was launched connecting people in Pittsburgh with women and trans prisoners incarcerated at Cambridge Springs Prison. Cambridge Springs is 2 hours north of Pittsburgh. Since the first visit last June  24 Pittsburghers were linked with different people serving time. You can read some of the visiting chronicles on Let’s Get Free’s instagram page. Scroll down to see the visit pics- most have a reddish background.  You will be able to sign up to visit women at Cambridge Springs at the art opening.

Let’s Get Free is hoping to raise another $5,000 to support our work for the next year! Please come out on July 6th from 6 – 10 pm. Auction closes at 9pm. The show will be up the whole month of July with gallery hours on Saturdays from 12 – 4pm.

Overflowing gratitude to Boom Concepts for being such a gracious host and Justseeds  the radical artist cooperative headquartered in Pittsburgh, who for the 2nd year in a row has made a generous donation to this cause. Thank you to all the ARTISTS for the time, thought and care you put into submissions!!

Embroidery by Amanda Hein

List of Artists in no special order:

Artists from the so-called US: Sue Abramson, Alisha Wormsley, Edith Abetya, Lataya Johnson, Olivia Robinson, Jenn Gooch, Chip ‘Jetsonorama’ Thomas, Shaun Slifer, Jess X Snow, Bec Young, Mary Mack, T. Foley, Juliette Angotti, Merideth Stern, Alec Icky Dunn, Josh Macphee, Chris Amann, kiln tender ceramics, Paula Levin, etta cetera, Shayla & Luz Esquivel, Hope Amico, Ken Boe, Ally Reeves, Jane Hein, Ellen Melchiondo, Leslie Stem, Alina Del Pino, Daniel Nelson, Hannah de Plessis, Andrea Chiotti, Devon Cohen, Maybe Sadeghi

Artists from Prison in the so-called US: Marsha Scaggs, Rachel, Amanda Hein, James Yaya Hough, Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli , Cuong Tran, Avis Lee, Duane Montney, Ajamu O. Iyapo, Leonard Jefferson, Bruce Bainbridge, Donna Martorano, Cinque Michael Upchurch, Andre Coltom

Artists from Mexico: Esmeralda Juarez, Sanya Hyland, Oscar Garcia, Grabiel, Xozulu, Zamer, Mazatl, Andrea Narno

Want to connect?

etta cetera – 443-603-6964 – letsgetfreepa@gmail.com

Categories
Art & Storytelling Events

Letters & Liberation Opens on July 6, 2018

IMG_2970Letters & Liberation
An Art Show and Fundraiser for Prison Justice

—————————— Facebook Event

Let’s Get Free, The Women & Trans Prisoner Defense Committee, teams up with Boom Concepts for the 2nd year in a row displaying a new exhibit called Letters and Liberation.

Over 40 artists from both sides of the prison walls have submitted provocative pieces utilizing ceramics, photography, textiles, silk screen, collage, stained glass, drawing, etc. There are close to 100 pieces of art up for auction benefiting the work of this local prison advocacy group. The opening and auction will take place on July 6 from 6 – 10pm with the auction closing at 9pm. The show will stay up through July 29th with gallery hours on Saturdays from 12 – 4pm.

Flower Letters with a Felt Chain by Cris Amann

Letters are an everyday part of being in prison or having a loved one incarcerated. Letters are instrumental in organizing for justice with people in prison. Letters are conduits for relationships. Letters can be the only tangible thread connecting people to their loved ones. And if you don’t throw those letters away for 18 years, you can collect quite a few. Inspiration for this show came when etta cetera, co-founder of Let’s Get Free, was searching for a creative way to release the hundreds and hundreds of letters she has amassed over years of maintaining friendships with people in prison and organizing for justice in the prisons. “I didn’t want to just throw them away. I like the idea of transforming them into art and letting that energy go.”

Ceramic Bowl by Paula Levin

Not all of the art is made from letters. Some of the art is inspired by reading letters. Paula Levin created a ceramic bowl after reading a letter by Khalifa Diggs. The bowl is glazed on the outside weaving Khalifa’s words with prison bars, “I have seen the ancestors and I have got to get to….where?”  Khalifa passed away last December after spending close to 40 years in prison. This is why people call life sentences in PA death sentences. People are dying. Let’s Get Free is one of the founding groups of the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration West (CADBIWest). Part of the proceeds from last year’s benefit went to pay for traveling expenses for many members to attend CADBI’s statewide rallies, meetings with lawmakers, the juvenile lifer day at Muncy prison, hearings for juvenile lifers, and statewide strategy meetings.

Making Connections Between Border Walls and Prison Walls

Shayla, Luz and Alex at a vigil for their dad Martín Esquivel-Hernandez

The youngest participants to submit art created out of letters are Shayla (age 13) and Luz (age 10), the daughters of MartÍn Esquivel- Hernandez. On May 1st, 2016 MartÍn Esquivel-Hernandez led the annual Mayday March for Workers and Immigrant Rights in Pittsburgh. He held a large banner with his wife that read, “Not One More Deportation.” On May 2nd, 2016, MartÍn was taken by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) at 6am in front of his family. They have not seen or hugged him since. Martin wrote this letter while he was detained for 9 months before being deported, and addressed it to ICE. His daughters Shayla and Luz redacted the letter by blocking out many words to create a new letter addressed to anyone in positions of power to stop separating families.

Shayla is tired of phone calls being the only way to be with her father. Luz barely remembers what he looks like. His wife, Alma, hasn’t seen him in over 2 years. And Alex, MartÍn’s youngest son (age 6), talks about him everyday. There is no hope for his return to the US, and his wife and children cannot visit him in Mexico. Cases like this are happening everyday, in Pittsburgh, nationwide, and worldwide. Families are being destroyed and separated. Parents are being forced to go to sleep, forever apart and without their children and families. Children are growing up in torn-apart families, surrounded by trauma. This isn’t right. Another world is possible.

[For more information on MartÍn, please this in-depth article written by Ryan Deto]

Have you ever thought about how militarized borders create open air prisons? In addition to Shayla and Luz’s letter, which demonstrates the similarities between the struggles of family members separated by prison walls and border walls, there are quite a few artists represented from México.  We are thrilled to exhibit two Puebla City artists, Esmeralda Juarez and Oscar Garcia, who both designed unique linoleum cuts especially for this show. More linoleum cuts from Andrea Narno and Grabiel of the radical print shop Escuela de Cultura Popular Martires del 68  in México City. This community art space was born out of the student uprisings in 68. Lastly, from México we will feature a portrait of Mumia Abu-Jamal by Zamer, who created art in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s birthday, which was celebrated in April across the world and in México City! Free Mumia!

Artists on the Inside

Let’s Have a Conversation by Bruce Bainbridge

From Muncy prison, Amanda Hein sent a very detailed embroidery of a typewriter reading the words, “I’m writing home to tell you.”  From Graterford prison, Bruce Bainbridge sent a small table with four chairs made out of brightly colored popsicle sticks. He has called this piece Let’s Have a Conversation.  From Fayette Prison Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli has submitted a captivating portrait of Malcolm X. In different shades of pencil, Malcolm’s face is constructed with words like “sister, community, love, strength, change, movement.”

James “Ya Ya” Hough  has only one year left of his juvenile life sentence.  He is returning to Pittsburgh in 2019 and hopes to pursue a career as an artist. The piece he submitted is a  mixed-media painting which incorporates a peach pit. Let’s Get Free is so excited to showcase his work and we can’t wait to welcome him home.

Janet Africa by Donna Martorano

Members of Let’s Get Free met Donna Martorano and Marsha Scaggs last summer on the first group visit to the Cambridge Springs prison. Marsha and her roomate Rachel submitted two charming tiny cross stitches one reading “Live, Love, Laugh” and the other reading “Let’s Get Free”.  Donna submitted 5 pieces including two large landscape paintings and two portraits of Janet Africa, one in pencil and one in charcoal. Janet Africa is a member of the Move organization and has been in prison since the 80s. The MOVE Organization is a group of mostly black, freedom- and nature- loving activists who were living in Philadelphia from the early 1970s to early 80s. The Philadelphia police department dropped a bomb on their house from a helicopter on May 13, 1985, silencing their central figure, John Africa. Did you know that Pennsylvania incarcerates the country’s most political prisoners?

Local Artists Create for the Cause

Abolitionist Medallion by kiln tender ceramics

Kiln Tender Ceramics has created a limited edition of cast ceramic prison abolitionist medallions inspired by 18th century coins made by abolitionists of slavery. Larger than a silver dollar, these ceramic pieces fit in the palm of your hand with one side reading “ Until we all are free” with hands breaking out of chains, while the other side features 3 famous abolitionists of past and present – Harriet Tubman, Angela Davis, and Patrisse Kahn-Cullors.

Jenn Gooch has created a weaving that stretches 10 feet wide utilizing over 30 letters from prisoners. While working on the piece that spells out “REDEMPTION,” Jenn posted on instagram, “ Tragic weft. Weaving with strips of letters from prisoners for @womeninprison‘s upcoming show. The heaviest thing I’ve ever woven. The weight of these words, and their sound—it’s crushing and deafening, yet paper-thin.”

Sue Abramson who used the letters from prisoners as negatives. Placing the letter in its entirety directly onto photo paper reveals compelling black and white scribblings that almost look like a new language.

Lataya Johnson, an artist from McKeesport, contributed a hanging lantern made completely with letters.

Photo by Juliette Angotti

Juliette Angotti, a french photographer living in Delaware, corresponded with 5 people incarcerated in Pennsylvania and asked them three questions:

   If you were a photographer or had access to a camera, what would you photograph?

     What images define liberation for you?

     What do you miss most from outside of prison?

They responded and Juliette took photos based on those replies. 5 photographs from this series and responses from the people incarcerated will be on display.

Collaboration with Avis Lee from LifeLines

Lifelines is a Philadelphia based media/cultural project conducted in extensive, long-term collaboration with eight people serving Life Sentences Without Parole or Death By Incarceration sentences in Pennsylvania. Lifelines created an exhibit called How Are We Free. This visual art exhibit that explores the nature of freedom and confinement through creative collaboration between people who have been sentenced to die in prison and visual artists outside the prison walls. Lifelines is lending the exhibit several pieces to display in Pittsburgh!

Last year’s art fundraiser entitled Contraband was SO SUCCESSFUL! Over 100 pieces of art  sold and $5,000 was raised. A new program called Operation Break Bread was launched connecting people in Pittsburgh with women and trans prisoners incarcerated at Cambridge Springs Prison. Cambridge Springs is 2 hours north of Pittsburgh. Since the first visit last June  24 Pittsburghers were linked with different people serving time. You can read some of the visiting chronicles on Let’s Get Free’s instagram page. Scroll down to see the visit pics- most have a reddish background.  You will be able to sign up to visit women at Cambridge Springs at the art opening.

Let’s Get Free is hoping to raise another $5,000 to support our work for the next year! Please come out on July 6th from 6 – 10 pm. Auction closes at 9pm. The show will be up the whole month of July with gallery hours on Saturdays from 12 – 4pm.

Overflowing gratitude to  Boom Concepts for being such a gracious host and Justseeds  the radical artist cooperative headquartered in Pittsburgh, who for the 2nd year in a row has made a generous donation to this cause. Thank you to all the ARTISTS for the time, thought and care you put into submissions!!

Embroidery by Amanda Hein

List of Artists in no special order:

Artists from the so-called US: Sue Abramson, Alisha Wormsley, Edith Abetya, Lataya Johnson, Olivia Robinson, Jenn Gooch, Chip ‘Jetsonorama’ Thomas, Shaun Slifer, Jess X Snow, Bec Young, Mary Mack, T. Foley, Juliette Angotti, Merideth Stern, Alec Icky Dunn, Josh Macphee, Chris Amann, kiln tender ceramics, Paula Levin, etta cetera, Shayla & Luz Esquivel, Hope Amico, Ken Boe, Ally Reeves, Jane Hein, Ellen Melchiondo, Leslie Stem, Alina Del Pino, Daniel Nelson, Hannah de Plessis, Andrea Chiotti, Devon Cohen, Maybe Sadeghi

Artists from Prison in the so-called US: Marsha Scaggs, Rachel, Amanda Hein, James Yaya Hough, Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli , Cuong Tran, Avis Lee, Duane Montney, Ajamu O. Iyapo, Leonard Jefferson, Bruce Bainbridge, Donna Martorano, Cinque Michael Upchurch, Andre Coltom

Artists from Mexico: Esmeralda Juarez, Sanya Hyland, Oscar Garcia, Grabiel, Xozulu, Zamer, Mazatl, Andrea Narno

Want to connect?

etta cetera – 443-603-6964 – letsgetfreepa@gmail.com

Categories
Art & Storytelling Events

Call for Artists – Letters and Liberation

Screen Shot 2018-01-27 at 6.06.06 PM

We are seeking collaborators for Let’s Get Free’s next fundraiser. Letters and Liberation will show in July 2018 at Boom Concepts in Pittsburgh. We are seeking artists of any ilk to throw down for our cause. Last year’s Contraband fundraiser was SO SUCCESSFUL! We sold over 100 pieces of art!!

Last year we raised $5,000. With that money we have:
  • launched a new program called Operation Break Bread. This program connects people  in Pittsburgh with women and trans prisoners incarcerated at Cambridge Springs Prison. Cambridge Springs is 2 hours north of Pittsburgh. Since our first visit last June we linked 24 Pittsburghers with different people serving time. We try to go up at least once a month. You can read some of the visiting chronicles on our instagram page. Scroll down to see the visit pics most have a reddish background. The gas for these trips came from the Contraband Art Show! Thank you art buyers and auction participants!!
  • been able to attend the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration’s statewide rallies, meetings with lawmakers,  the juvenile lifer day at Muncy prison, hearings for ghani and saleem – two of our friends – ghani is home and saleem will be home SOON!! AND some us are heading to the statewide strategy meeting on Feb.3 in Philadelphia. That is a lot of gas, van rentals and tolls!! Thank you artists, especially Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli and Justseeds!!
  • let’s get free was a primary contributor to CADBI West’s recent panel at the Summit Against Racism. 4 of the participants,  Paulette Carrington, Yusef Jones, Troy David and Sharif Boyd all received substantial speakers’ fees and meals throughout the weekend. All because of our last fundraiser! Thanks Boom Concepts for being such a gracious host!! You can see a video of the panel HERE

You can see we use your energy, creative expressions and financial gifts wisely. We have tried in the past for grants and never been successful. We don’t need a lot. Just a little to really boost our work. So the ask:

Screen Shot 2017-03-13 at 1.21.18 PM
Racoon painting on actual leaf by Todd “Hung-Rae” TarsellCall for Artwork

Deadline for Submissions: April 1, 2018
 
Mail artwork to: Letters and Liberation c/o Lets Get Free, 460 Melwood Ave. #300 Pittsburgh, PA 15213- Please include title of piece and how you want to be recognized.
Format: Any medium welcome. Painting, Sculpture, Knitting, Cross stitch, paper mache, drawing, poem, collage, origami, your medium of choice.  Be encouraged to  re- purpose letters that were sent to or from prison. Use an old letter as the base for a painting or drawing. Use letters to make paper mache. Use letters to make a paper cut or stencil. OR DON’T. Make what you make. It can be inspired by the theme or not. Also we would love any old artwork donations even if it doesn’t fit the theme.
Theme or Concept:  If you need some inspiration consider this: Can your artwork answer the sentence? Liberation is….
Do you want to collaborate with us? We are up for it!
We have sent the call to over 100 people in PA prisons. If you know any incarcerated artists send their name DOC # and address and we will send them the details.  If you are not incarcerated and would like some letters to work with contact etta – 443-603-6964
Artists who want letters:  i am going out of town from March 5th to May 18. If you want letters before then please connect with me in February. I have thought about confidentiality of the letter writers. We can talk about that if you are interested in participating.
Thank you so much!!

Lets Get Free (if you are interested in volunteering we always need help)
letsgetfreepa@gmail.com
etta (443-603-6964)
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