Opening of Prison-Themed Art Exhibit Draws Students, Area Community
About 50 students, faculty and area residents gathered Feb. 21 for the opening of Incarceration Realities: Walls and Beyond, the University of La Verne College of Law’s spring art exhibit.
The exhibit, which features the work of incarcerated artists and artists confronting the American prison system, runs through May 16 at the law school campus, 320 E. D St., Ontario.
Artists Sheila Pinkel, Joe Luna, David Earl Williams, Jack Morris and Martin Moreno provided pieces for the gallery. The exhibition also presents art on loan through the William James Society, paintings from the California Rehabilitation Center, and art from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. It includes painting, sculpture, photography and installation.
La Verne College of Law has chosen a focus this year on the concept of incarceration; Incarceration Realities: Walls and Beyond is part of that focus. The La Verne Law Review’s annual symposium on April 8 will continue the theme featuring internationally renowned speakers including Bryon Stevenson, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2015 and the founder and head of the Equal Justice Initiative, and the Honorable Cruz Reynoso, former California Supreme Court Justice.
The exhibition explores the rehabilitative arts programs in California prisons. The growth of incarceration rates in the United
States over the past 40 years is historically unprecedented and internationally unique. Incarceration Realities: Walls and Beyond presents the causes of this phenomenon and highlights its effects on prisoners, their families, and their communities.
Returning curator Conchi Sanford is an instructor of art at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. She has curated numerous exhibitions in the Inland Empire and the Los Angeles area.
The College of Law’s art gallery brings local, regional and international artists to the law school campus in Ontario. The gallery hosts two to three exhibitions a year, opening the exhibits to both the legal and general communities.
The exhibit is free and open to the public by appointment.
