Life on Hold Gallery Exhibit
Dates: January 23rd-March 3rd, 2023
Time: M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM; Contact Gallery for information on weekend hours
Location: Notre Dame University of Maryland’s Gormley Gallery
Featuring artworks made by women incarcerated at Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, through a collaboration with NDMU students, faculty, and staff. Under curator Casey McKeel’s leadership, Notre Dame of Maryland University faculty, staff, and students visited MCIW this fall to lead workshops in painting and collage and to work with the incarcerated women to make art that speaks to their experiences.
Women & Incarceration Panel Discussion
Date: February 20th, 2023
Time: 6:00-7:30 PM
Location: Ridley Auditorium at the Loyola Notre Dame Library
NDMU will hold a panel discussion with speakers Nicole Hanson-Mundell of Out for Justice, Samantha Master of Free Black Mamas DMV, and Qiana Johnson of Life After Release.
This panel discussion is offered in coordination with the exhibition Life on Hold, which features artwork created by women incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW). The conversation will be led by Guest Curator Casey McKeel, who led the artistic collaboration with incarcerated women and curated the exhibition, and NDMU student Jaylien Washington, an art therapy major who participated in the art workshops at MCIW.
Topics include: the role art plays in elevating the voices of incarcerated people; how we got into the crisis of incarceration; issues around sentencing; the history of organizing around incarceration; and examples of resistance.
RSVP for Women & Incarceration Panel Discussion
Art & Krimes by Krimes Film Screening and Q&A
Date: February 28th, 2023
Time: Film at 5:30 PM, Q&A 7:00-8:00 PM
Location: Ridley Auditorium at the Loyola Notre Dame Library
Notre Dame of Maryland University will be screening the documentary Art & Krimes by Krimes in coordination with the Life on Hold exhibition. Following the film, an NDMU student moderator will facilitate a Q&A session with artist Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter. Light snacks available.
About Art & Krimes by Krimes: While locked up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art—including an astonishing 40-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse’s work captures the art world’s attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence.
About Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter: Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter is an award-winning Philadelphia based artist who creates socially conscious music, film, and visual art through an autobiographical lens. Although it has been a decade since her release from a Pennsylvania prison, Mary’s time spent on the inside continues to shape the direction of her art and practice. Her entertaining but poignant works offer a critical perspective on the particular challenges women of color face when they become immersed in the criminal justice system.
RSVP for Film Screening and Q&A
Master of Light Film Screening and Q&A
Date: March 21st, 2023
Time: 6:00-8:30 PM
Location: Ridley Auditorium at the Loyola Notre Dame Library
Loyola University Maryland is hosting a film screening of “Master of Light” followed by a discussion led by Tia “Mz Konnoisseur” Hamilton during their Mission Week. This documentary features George Anthony Morton, a classical painter, who spent 10 years in federal prison for dealing drugs. While incarcerated, he nurtured his craft. Since his release, he has been doing everything he can to defy society’s un-level playing field and tackle the white-dominant art world.
Read more about Tia Hamilton here.
Learn more about George Anthony Morton here.
Demand Human Dignity Postcard Campaign
Take a moment to write a postcard in support of the Maryland Mandela Act (HB0385/SB00459). Postcards, pens, and a box to drop the cards in are located near the front entrance to the library’s main level.
Sample wording:
I am writing to urge you to pass the Maryland Mandela Act (HB385/SB045). (Include 1-2 reasons why you believe prolonged restrictive housing (solitary confinement) is inhumane.)
- “respect peoples’ inherent dignity and limit the use of solitary confinement in Maryland”
- “prolonged periods of solitary confinement is psychological torture”
- “vulnerable people should not be deprived of human connection for their protection”
- “Prolonged isolation is a human rights violation”
- “prolonged solitary confinement is cruel, ineffective, and denies a human their dignity.”
- Respect the dignity of all people and pass the Maryland Mandela Act.
What does the Mandela Act do?
The Maryland Mandela Act (HB0385/SB00459)
- Limits on the number of days a person may be placed in restrictive housing.
- Prohibits placing youth, elderly people, people with developmental disabilities, people with serious mental illness, pregnant or postpartum people, people with visual or auditory impairments, and LGBTQ+ people in restrictive housing.
- Requires trauma-informed training for hearing officers and personnel involved in the supervision and care of individuals in restrictive housing.
- Increases due process protections for people placed in restrictive housing.
Spotlight Series Exhibit and Book Display
As you enter the library’s main level stop by the Spotlight Series online exhibit and the Mass Incarceration book display. Learn more about the Maryland Mandela Act, the events surrounding Mass Incarceration on both campuses, and grab a book on the topic.
