The Work: Fifteen Years of
Free Write Jail Arts
July 10-July 24

The Work: Fifteen Years of Free Write Through Icons, Imagery, and Poetry presents the work of students who are currently or were recently detained in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (CCJTDC). The exhibition is the fourth annual exhibition of Free Write student work hosted by Chicago Art Department. Since 2000, Free Write has facilitated creative writing workshops, one-on-one literacy tutoring, and arts programming for youth in the CCJTDC.

The Work: Fifteen Years of Free Write Through Icons, Imagery, and Poetry will occupy both Chicago Art Department’s east and the west gallery spaces. The east gallery will feature a retrospective of fifteen years of student work organized by visual tropes.  The west gallery will feature work created during the 2014-2015 school year including projections of run cycle animations, a listening station featuring recordings of students reading their poetry, and print publications of student writing and art. There will also be live performances by Free Write teaching artists and Free Write alumni.

Quite often, our students come to us with iconographic illustrations such as prayer hands, roses with thorns, and “Laugh Now, Cry Later” masks. By artistically representing and re-imagining these icons, our incarcerated students directly connect themselves to these strong cultural tropes that are resonating with them during a time of crisis. The presentation of these icons seeks to show our students’ connection to their communities and their rich artistic heritages, as well as the resilience, hope, and optimism found through connecting to something larger than them. In the broader context, the exhibition interrogates the role of iconography, relating to the canons of religious, cultural, and pop culture.

The Work: Fifteen Years of Free Write
July 10 – July 24, 2015
Opening Reception Friday July 10, 6-10pm
Chicago Art Department, 1932 South Halsted