This Is Me Art Show & Auction Opens November 1, 2024 at the Irma Freeman Center creative-resistance.org Let’s Get Free’s 7th art show, This Is Me, opens on November 1 at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination at 5006 Penn Avenue in Garfield. The show runs November 1-26 with weekly gallery hours, in addition to a series of related events throughout the month. This Is Me features work from over 80 incarcerated artists, and 60 artists in solidarity with ending mass incarceration. All the artists' work combined total 200+ artworks! The theme of this year’s show, This Is Me, invited artists and poets to bring an introspective element to their pieces, to uplift the humanity and individuality of everyone in the movement to end death by incarceration. A diverse range of media make up the show, including textiles, painting, cross stitch, sculpture, and more.
The art will also be exhibited online at creative-resistance.org. There are over 100 pieces of art up for auction benefiting Let’s Get Free, a local prison advocacy group. The auction begins at the opening on November 1, and will run for three weeks until Monday November 18 at 9pm. People can bid in person at the Irma Freeman Center, or online. All money raised will support the work of Let’s Get Free. Alongside the visual art, poets in prison have submitted over 100 poems to the show, some of which will be showcased at This Is Me. A booklet of all the poems will be available for the duration of the show. A newshort film made in collaboration between local filmmaker Njaimeh Njie and Let’s Get Free will be showing for the duration of the exhibit. The film is released in concert with our newly revived Commutation Now! Campaign, a statewide initiative seeking to shed light on the commutation process, pressure politicians, hold the board of pardons accountable, and support second chances from life sentences. T
his Is Me will kick off with an Opening reception on Friday, November 1 from 6:00-9:00 pm, followed by a series of events throughout November that will take place on site at the Irma Freeman Center. The event series includes: ✨
Friday November 1, 6:00-9:00 pm - Art Show Opening and Auction ✨
Saturday November 2, 2:00-3:30 pm - Gallery Tour and Art Discussion In depth look at pieces in the show from people in prison, along with community discussion that will be shared with artists ✨
Thursday November 14, 7:00-9:00 pm - Beyond Borders: Political Persecution & International Struggles Creative presentation and public discussion about role of prisons in political suppression, featuring international artists/writers Mai Khôi (Vietnam), Abdelrahman ElGendy (Egypt), and moderated by Omid Shekari (Iran) ✨
Saturday Nov 23, 2:00-5:00 pm - Crafting Abolition In Real Life w/ Special Guest Cedar Annenkovna Artist talk with Cedar about being an artist in prison, followed by collective crafting in gallery space and poetry readings from the show ✨
Gallery Hours: Fridays 12 - 7, Saturdays 12 - 5, Sundays 12 - 5 Full list of Events,
Auction/Contest Info and Online Gallery will be available at creative-resistance.org Art as a tool for liberation has been a central element of Let’s Get Free’s work since its inception. The art shows have steadily built advocacy for the release of individuals from Pennsylvania state prisons and have created conversations and collaborations that invite meaningful reciprocity across the prison walls.