In a nation that incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, LGBTQ prisoners face a greater risk of physical and sexual victimization. They are more likely to experience assault and abuse by corrections officers as well as other prisoners, and less likely to have support from family and friends on the outside due to their sexuality or gender identity. Behind bars, their identities are stripped away and they become just another number in the system.

ON THE INSIDE is a group show of currently incarcerated LGBTQ+ artists. This exhibition is the culmination of a multi-year project conceived of by Tatiana von Furstenberg in collaboration with the BLACK & PINK newsletter, a monthly publication filled with prisoner-generated content. 

The art is made from basic materials the prisoners have access to behind bars: mostly letter-sized paper, dull pencils, ball-point pen ink tubes (the hard shell is deemed too dangerous), and unlikely innovations such as using an asthma inhaler with Kool-aid to create an airbrushed painting.

Forced to cope with a non-inclusive society, many marginalized Americans end up incarcerated because they lack resources and privilege. All too often these essential voices are silenced, in this case, because they are locked behind concrete and steel. Through the lens of art, we on the outside have the opportunity to bear witness to the suffering and also celebrate the resilience of the artists who are locked up. The art on these walls demonstrates the ability of those who are suffering to still create beauty. Each of these pieces tells a story and these are stories we must listen to.

The project started with a small ad in the Black and Pink newsletter, a monthly publication filled with prisoner-generated content, sharing stories about prison life. Ignited and inspired by this call for art, more than four thousand pieces were submitted.

The exhibition first opened at Abrons Art Center, NYC and moved to Craft Contemporary Art Museum in Los Angeles. An exhibit-sized document of the project has traveled to universities and will be on view at 229 Commercial Street, Provincetown Summer 2023.

The organizers stated We recognize the need to lend voice to the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our society. We hope that this exhibition will help to enrich the conversation and actions needed to improve prisoners’ rights. Black and Pink is a nationally networked grassroots organization, including nine chapters across the United States, working to meet the immediate needs of LGBTQ prisoners while simultaneously building the movement for the abolition of the prison industrial complex.

ON THE INSIDE
Starts on Friday, August 4 · 6:30pm EDT
Provincetown Arts Society 466 Commercial St Provincetown, MA