Reflections from Philly Art Exhibit
by Malika Anthony
This past summer, a few of my coworkers and I got the amazing opportunity to go visit Performing Statistics in Philadelphia and experience some of the work they have been doing there. Performing Statistics and the young people they work with put together an incredible exhibit to show the troubles and everyday lives of the youth in prisons.
As you participate in the exhibit, you are taken through the everyday life of an incarcerated individual. Each room represents a different aspect of jail and a different opportunity for the young people to share their stories. Entering the exhibit you can see what the classroom setting is like in jail, the visiting room, and you can also hear some stories from families of incarcerated youth and how they were affected by the situation. You get to see what the inside of a cell looks like and even put on virtual reality glasses to see an individual go through their everyday life in jail. All over the walls there are posters informing you of the history and hardships of the justice system in their state.
As you walk through and watch others walk through, you get to see the devastating truth of just how much the public—including yourself—doesn’t know about the struggles and injustices youth are dealing with. For example, if one was sentenced but the jail didn’t have room for them they would be set to a holding facility until a bed open up, oftentimes spending longer in the holding facility then they were sentenced to in the first place and they would still have to go serve their time once a bed opened up because that time waiting does not count towards their time. We are all wrapped up in our struggles and fights to change the future and situations in our own communities that sometimes we forget to look at that of others. Not only is it eye opening but their methods of getting the word out and the work that they have done is inspiring and motivating.
During our time down there, we got to interact with young people who worked on the project. Sitting in a meeting with them, I couldn’t help but be in awe of how much work and dedication they put into getting their message out. From bus wraps to strategically placed murals they ensured that their voices would be heard and I mean this quite literally. They have talking murals outside of police stations and banners hanging on buildings where you can hear their voices and see their face and visuals with just the camera on your phone.
Though the experience can be heartbreaking for some, they do not leave you with just the issues and difficulties. As you approach the end of the exhibit you have the opportunity to make art with the creators and imagine what the future would look like once all these issues are resolved.
We got to participate in a workshop with the creators where we were encouraged to look into the personal hardships of our communities and justice system and come up with innovative ways to improve and replace them. Overall not only was the trip eye opening and encouraged us to think outside of the normal solutions but the opportunity to interact with others who are fighting the same fight as us was motivating.
