Wa Na Wari is proud to present Voices From the Inside, a powerful new exhibition spotlighting the artwork of incarcerated members of the Black Prisoners Caucus (BPC) at Monroe Correctional Complex’s Twin Rivers Unit (TRU). The exhibition runs from June 6 through July 13, 2025, offering a rare and intimate look at how creativity, reflection, and resistance thrive behind prison walls.
Voices From the Inside features beadwork, poetry, essays, and visual art by artists including Tonelli Anderson, Jeremy Blaine, Isaac Carrasco, Antaeus Laurent Clark, Heirius A. Howell, David Jackson, and Derik Maples. Each piece offers a window into the lived experiences of individuals navigating incarceration while affirming their humanity and commitment to transformation. The show also includes filmmaker Dehanza Rogers’ video projection on the criminalization of Black girlhood, originally commissioned by Eastern State Penitentiary.
BPC was founded to provide a medium for African American prisoners to work collectively toward personal growth, stronger family connections, and community accountability - even while physically separated from their home communities. This exhibition emerges from that ethos, with artworks that explore healing, racial identity, family legacy, spiritual grounding, and the power of self-expression.
Voices from the Inside invites visitors to explore the intersections of humanity, offering a deeper, more intentional reflection on the concept of ‘two lives’ and the complex, shared experiences that shape our understanding of what it means to be human.
“Being a person of an Indigenous background and also half Latino with sisters who are African American, I never grew up seeing “color” as race. I grew up seeing my “Black” sisters as just my sisters. I saw my “Mexican” mother as just my mom, and my Native dad’s side of the family as must my Dad’s side of the family. I was shocked to see [that] prison was still stuck in the past. No one told me there was segregation. I wasn’t taught that growing up with my family and friends. I could not and I would not take part in the prison culture.”, shares artist Isaac Carassco.
Through Voices From the Inside, Wa Na Wari extends its ongoing commitment to centering Black stories and reclaiming space for Black art in Seattle’s Central District. The exhibition affirms that even within the most restrictive environments, creative voices remain an urgent and necessary part of the cultural tapestry of our region and society.
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