Outside Cultural Event 1: Prison Nation

For my first outside cultural event, I visited the Prison Nation exhibition at the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. Going into the gallery, I was not really sure what to expect. I knew from the title of the event that it would have something to do with the incarceration system in the U.S., so I was expecting a somewhat disheartening presentation. The word prison has an impact: in my mind, I picture mugshots, criminals, and unfortunate lives. However, I left the event with a more sensitive and humane understanding of the word and topic. 

Upon entering the gallery, the whole room was silent and empty. To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure that I was in the right place until I was reassured by the bold words “Prison Nation” on one of the walls. However, the ambiance of the showroom was a stark contrast to the pictures and descriptions of the works displayed on the walls. The walls were filled with pictures of people being people. Some photos that resonated with me were of women inmates doing their makeup and fiercely posing for pictures. It brought me back to the times I spent getting ready to look good with my friends while dancing to music: an experience that always brings me and my friends closer together as we connect to our feminine energies. There were also images of inmates simply smiling as they admired flowers and cute animals. 

The gallery made me realize how much media representation of prisoners swayed my perception of incarcerated people. I think this was my first time actually seeing photos of inmates smiling and being portrayed in a positive light. While I was under the impression, prior to actually seeing the gallery, that the exhibition would be depressing, I was proved wrong. Prisoners are people. And one of the innate conditions of being a person is to feel things, emotionally. Emotions are varied and diverse. However, by excluding the wide array of emotions that come along with the human experience by hyper-fixating on only the negative, you take away the aspect of humanity. This is what has happened to prisoners in the U.S. incarceration system because of media representation. A quote from the gallery puts it together perfectly. “At a moment when an estimated 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the U.S., 3.8 million people are on probation, and 870,000 former prisoners are on parole, how can images tell the story of mass incarceration when the imprisoned don’t have control over their own representation?” Although I left the exhibition with a more intricate understanding of the prison experience, I am left with questions about how we can help bring humanity into the general perception of prisoners in society.