What is an Advocacy & Empowerment Art Show?

The mission and vision of the Unchained Voices committee is to Educate, Empower, Advocate and Connect through shared humanity and the powerful voice of Art.

We seek to Educate the greater community about the experience of incarcerated people. Through our unique model, requiring “Needs Statements” from each of our artists, we seek to help others understand the many collateral consequences of “Mass Incarceration”. We also seek to illuminate the dark corners of the justice system, to highlight the change, humanity, and redemption that grows inside incarceration facilities.  

We seek to Empower both incarcerated individuals and “free people” towards a better vision of community. Through the sale and purchase of art, created inside incarceration facilities, individuals can contribute, in a positive way to their community. Some choose to financially support families in the “free,” while others give their earnings to a wide range of organizations, from Children’s Hospital to the DU Prison Arts Initiative. We believe in empowering people to do better, no matter their past or present circumstance.

We seek to Advocate. By illuminating the many “faces” of Mass-Incarceration we seek to advocate for a more just and equitable system. By illustrating, through “Needs Statements,” the multi-faceted collateral consequences of the system—we seek to advocate for change. As we believe our artist’s voices best illustrate the change they are engaging in, despite the hardships of incarceration. We believe that by experiencing firsthand the many obstacles our artists face, we can help others imagine better, more equitable systems of justice.

We seek to Connect people. Encored in the values of Restorative Justice we seek to connect ALL our community. Because we believe that our inter-dependence is valuable. We seek to connect the marginalized with the privileged, the incarcerated to the free, families with their loved ones. Through sharing of Art, ideas, emotions, and resources we hope to engage all members in making our community a better home, for those here and those returning from their time incarcerated.

We achieve these goals by promoting, displaying, and selling inmate-created artwork in an annual show. Each artist is required to provide a unique explanation or “Statement of Need,” which is displayed along with the art at each show. All proceeds go directly to fulfilling the “need” identified by the artist.

The committee receives no compensation for its work. All costs of production are covered by a combination of community sponsorship, private donations, and a small grant. For donation or sponsorship information please use the ‘Contact Us’ section of the website.