“Unchained: Art From Inside Whatcom County Jail,” is a gallery of art entirely from incarcerated people from Whatcom County. The show is coordinated by the Whatcom Pen-Pal Project, a writing program seeking to reduce the isolation of the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) by facilitating connections between the inside and the outside world. Though the gallery features a breadth of themes and displays the range of people’s capabilities, a consistent theme is Envelope Art, the longtime prison tradition of using your letters to the outside as a canvas for your work. It acts as a form of resistance to the constrictive rulings of life while incarcerated.
Over the past year of the Pen Pal Program, we’ve received an incredible amount of art of various styles and methods, all with whatever materials people can craft. Artists have discussed unthreading towels to weave, creating paint brushes by picking apart hair picks, and making paints with coffee or crushed colored pencils and water. Their creativity is not limited to their artwork, but to the ways they uniquely navigate life under extremely repressive conditions. The show seeks to, first and foremost, affirm the humanity of those dehumanized through incarceration. To validate artistic identities, and mark a milestone in people’s artistic careers.
The Whatcom Pen-Pal Program hosts monthly orientations for those on the outside interested in getting involved. During the orientation, facilitators will provide context on incarceration in Whatcom County, the importance of building relationships with incarcerated people, and the logistics of writing. This is a space for people to learn more about the program and ask questions before committing! To sign up for the Pen-Pal Program & learn more about the work we do at Unchain Whatcom, visit https://unchainwhatcom.com/. Additionally, we consistently fundraise to provide a monetary deposit onto people’s commissary accounts, which they can use for food, writing supplies, toiletries, or anything else that supports their involvement and connection. You can donate to us through Venmo & Cashapp, both at @unchain_whatcom. You can also sign up to become a Patreon member! We send out monthly newsletters of ongoing projects, art, and political education materials (books, films, podcasts). Click here to subscribe! Follow us on Instagram here, and visit our Linktr.ee for educational materials.
Artists include:
Richard Kirkham
Brian Drake
Xavier Alegria-Ruybal
Bill Robbins
Esteven Delafuente
Austin Connors
Richard Garza
Joshua Bryan
Josephy Hardy
Cesar Perez Solis
Ryan Gehr
Joshua R. Howell
Fredy Martin Esteban
Douglas Smith
Preston E. Richardson
Shawn Gulseth
Lane Phipps
Rogelio Luna
Satan Nehtahwey
Darren OneAll
Jeff Enriques
John Roper Thomson
Opening Reception
Friday June, 7th 5pm-9pm
Make.Shift Art Space
306 Flora St
98225