Visions of Hope:
Artmaking Inside Soledad State Prison
In January 2024, the team from Life On Earth (LOEA) led interactive art, writing, and mindfulness activities with Soledad State Prison inmates [See photos below]. The art pieces will be showcased at a large-scale multimedia art installation that LOEA is designing for the historic Marin County Civic Center.
LOEA, a Petaluma-based nonprofit organization, explores how the transformative power of art and collective creativity can help heal trauma and lead to personal and community well-being. LOEA believes that the opportunity to experience and create beauty is a basic human right, and that participatory art experiences contribute to a culture of dignity, hope, and peace. By bringing together multi-media artists, youth, social activists, community groups, incarcerated persons, health practitioners, and art therapists to explore and raise awareness about injustices, LOEA aims to amplify relatedness, compassion and empowerment.
The exhibit “Visions of Hope” will run from Aug-Oct 2024 and will advocate for criminal justice reform and the important role of art as a tool for activism. The intention is to build artistic bridges between incarcerated persons and the outside world — an opportunity to create something beautiful together that will be seen and heard by the public.
The collaboration to support Soledad State Prison was sparked by UC Santa Cruz Professor Megan McDrew, whose organization The Transformative Justice Center of Monterey County, leads the Empathy in Action (formerly Exercises in Empathy) course with inmates there. The 8-week course works to transform prison spaces into places focused on higher education, healing, whole body wellness, accountability and respect. It invites college students and other members of the public to engage with the incarcerated men through storytelling and conversation. “In Empathy in Action, no one is left behind and all are given space to share their stories. It is a deeply transformative, impactful, and inspiring experience for all involved.”
Another key collaborator in the project, The People's Commission for Integrity in Criminal Justice, was founded to address the systemic failures in the criminal justice system including the wrongful convictions and sentences. The Commission brings together California defense attorneys, inmates, students, and volunteers to advocate for specific cases where they believe the individuals have been wrongfully accused. The Commission utilizes a predictive and holistic model that seeks broader understanding of the common factors that lead to wrongful convictions.
Here is the work we did with the inmates in Soledad
