April 2015
LA PETITE MORT GALLERY presents
Windows From Prison, April 3 – 26, 2015
Vernissage – April 3, 7-10pm @ La Petite Mort Gallery
Curated by Guy Berube
Co-curator Adam Barbu.
Public Artist Talk – April 2, 1:30 – 2:30pm
University of Ottawa, 100 Laurier Building, Room 219
In partnership with the US Embassy in Ottawa, La Petite Mort Gallery will present an exhibition by American artist Mark Strandquist titled “Windows From Prison” on from April 3-26, 2015.
The artist will be visiting from the US to attend the opening and to facilitate the related public programs.
This project is funded through a U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy-Ottawa Public Affairs Section Grant.
In collaboration with MASC Ottawa (Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities).
Silkscreened print posters produced in collaboration with Spins & Needles, Ottawa, Canada.
Collaboration by School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO) & thank you to Michael Tardioli.
Thank you to the Ottawa School of Art & Guillermo Trejo for their assistance.
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“If you could have a window in your cell, what place from your past would it look out to?”
This question was asked to individuals who are from Washington, DC but sent to prisons across the country. The corresponding photo requests were then fulfilled by students at George Mason University and Duke Ellington High School and mailed back to the incarcerated participants.
“Windows From Prison” utilizes photography as a way to bridge this distance while creating space and humanistic entry points for students, faculty, NGO’s, family members of incarcerated individuals, former prisoners, and policy makers to engage with the sources, impacts, and alternatives to mass incarceration.
The version of the project being exhibited at La Petite Mort Gallery will include twelve of the original photographs and corresponding letters and instructions from the prisoners. It will also include an installation of handmade objects derived from workshops and correspondences facilitated through prisons across the US. Finally, the artist will produce an interactive outreach component where visitors can send letters to currently incarcerated individuals.
On April 2, to anticipate the exhibition opening at La Petite Mort Gallery, Mark Strandquist will deliver a free, public artist talk at the University of Ottawa focusing on the theme of “photography as social practice.” Later in the evening, in collaboration with MASC Ottawa (Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities), the artist will facilitate a workshop with at-risk teens living in Ottawa.
Statement:
“If you could have window in your cell, what place from your past would it look out to?” This question is asked to individuals who are from Washington, DC area but sent to prisons across the country. The corresponding photo requests are then fulfilled by students at George Mason University and Duke Ellington High School and mailed back to the incarcerated participants.
When individuals from Washington, DC are placed in the federal penitentiary system they can be sent to any prison across the country (potentially thousands of miles away from family or friends). Windows From Prison* utilizes photography as a way to bridge this distance while creating space and humanistic entry points for students, faculty, NGO’s, family members of incarcerated individuals, former prisoners, and policy makers to engage with the sources, impacts, and alternatives to mass incarceration.
In 2014, from April 7th-21st, the images and corresponding prisoner’s writing were printed on 12×9 ft banners. These were then displayed on campus in GMU’s central public square (in the grassy area between the Fenwick Library and Sub 1). The banners were placed in a circular design so that that the photos created and carved out a real and symbolic space for a multidisciplinary group of GMU scholars, policy/justice activists, artists, and community members. The public exhibition included an expansive set of public programs, events, debates, and brainstorming sessions (info below).
Mirroring the project’s ethos, the exhibit didn’t seek to impose information upon a community, but to create avenues and space for local knowledge to emerge, complicate, and activate the project’s artistic and civic potential. The exhibit included an extensive set of public events, workshops, film screenings and community forums. Click here for additional images, audio, and additional information.
*The project was awarded a 2013 Photowings/Ashoka Foundation Insight project grant and is a partnership with Free Minds DC, George Mason University’s School of the Arts, GMU’s VA Writing Project, The Washington Project for the Arts, and Duke Ellington High School.
PRESS:
New York Times: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/windows-without-prison-bars/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/06/what-d-c-prison-inmates-wish-they-could-see-from-behind-bars/
Mark Strandquist, is an artist, activist, and teacher who has spent years using art as a vehicle for connecting diverse communities to build empathy and support social justice movements. For his ongoing project Windows From Prison, images requested by prisoners are collaboratively produced and then publicly exhibited to spark dialogue and action around criminal justice issues. Since its initial iterations in the fall of 2012, Windows From Prison has expanded into interactive exhibits in several states, a national postcard-exchange program, a high school curriculum, and various public installations that have brought thousands of individuals together with prisoners across the country. Beyond impacting direct participants through a highly collaborative process, the project has received multiple awards, fellowships, and reached wide audiences through the NY Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, PBS Newshour, and a multitude of other media outlets.
Mark Strandquist, is an artist, activist, and teacher who has spent years using art as a vehicle for connecting diverse communities to build empathy and support social justice movements. For his ongoing project Windows From Prison, images requested by prisoners are collaboratively produced and then publicly exhibited to spark dialogue and action around criminal justice issues. Since its initial iterations in the fall of 2012, Windows From Prison has expanded into interactive exhibits in several states, a national postcard-exchange program, a high school curriculum, and various public installations that have brought thousands of individuals together with prisoners across the country. Beyond impacting direct participants through a highly collaborative process, the project has received multiple awards, fellowships, and reached wide audiences through the NY Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, PBS Newshour, and a multitude of other media outlets.
The project was most recently produced with the New School and Parsons in NYC and current versions are being produced with the University of Michigan and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond VA.
He currently teaches art and activism at Virginia Commonwealth University, co-founded the website Photography as a Social Practice, and co-directs the public art and advocacy project The People’s Paper Co-op.
MORE:
Mark Strandquist
markaloysious@gmail.com
www.nomovement.com
Education
– BFA Photography and Film, Minor in Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009- Graduated May 2013
– George Mason University 2005-2007
Teaching
2015
– Virginia Commonwealth University, Adjunct Faculty, Interdisciplinary Arts, Art as Activism: New Currents in Socially Engaged Art
2014
– Corcoran College of Art, Adjunct Faculty, New Media and Photojournalism Graduate Program, Adjunct Faculty
– University of Richmond, Partners in the Arts, Teaching Artist
– Joan Oates Institute, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, Teaching Artist
– Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Adjunct Faculty, The People’s Library
– People’s Library and People’s Librarian intern program, Richmond Public Library, Co-director
2013
– Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Adjunct Faculty, The People’s Library
– Partners in Arts; Teaching Artist in Residence, Patrick Henry Charter School
– Joan Oates Institute, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, Teaching Artist
– Georgetown University Street Law Clinic, Teaching Artist
Exhibitions
2016
– Project Row Houses, People’s Paper Co-op, Curated by
Raquel De Anda
– University of Michigan, Public Installation/Residence College, Windows From Prison
2015
– Parsons at the New School, “Prison Obscura,” Curated by Pete Brook, Some of the Places We’ve Missed
– Petit Mort Gallery, Ottawa, CA, Windows From Prison (in partnership with the US Embassy)
– Bridge PAI, Charlottesville, VA, Tactics of Collaboration, in partnership with the Magnum Foundation
– Los Angeles Valley College Gallery, “Site Unseen,” Windows From Prison
2014
– Village Arts And Humanities, People’s Library and People’s Paper Co-OP, Philadelphia, PA
– Haverford College, Prison Obscura, Curated by Pete Brook, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Columbia College’s Center for Book and Paper Arts, ‘Social Paper,’ Chicago, IL, The People’s Library
– George Mason University, Fairfax/Arlington, VA, Windows From Prison
– Scripps College, Prison Obscura, Curated by Pete Brook
– Rutgers University, Eagleton School of Policy, Windows From Prion
– Lycoming College, Windows From Prison
– Alfa Art Gallery, Prison Obscura, Curated by Pete Brook, New Brunswick, NJ
– ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art, “Global Activism,” The Floating Lab Collective, Protesting On Demand
– Society for Photographic Educators National Conference, Baltimore, MD, The Archive of Unmade Photographs, A collaboration with Rebecca Hackeman
– Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library, Permanent Installation, Richmond, VA, People’s Library
– Capital One Gallery, University of Richmond Partners In the Arts, We Traced A Creek With More Than Our Hands
2013
– Bridge PAI / Charlottesville, VA, Multi-Site Installation, Some Other Place’s We’ve Missed
– Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library, Permanent Installation, Richmond, VA, People’s Library
– Art In Odd Places, Greensborough, NC, Public Installation, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– VCU Undergraduate Exhibit, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Engaging People and Place, Gallery 5, Richmond, VA, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Unbound 2, Candella Gallery, Richmond, VA, Haitian Relief
– All Visual Triangle, Durham, NC, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
2012
– Ripple Effect: Currents In Socially Engaged Art, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington DC, Write Home Soon
– VCU Art Space, Richmond, VA, Write Home Soon
– New Faces, 1708 Gallery Satellite show, Richmond, VA, Artifacts of an Occupation
– Portrait As Community, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Dark City, Refrigerator Art Space, Richmond, VA, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Feminism and Women’s Rights in Virginia, Gallery 5, Richmond, VA, Naisofi
– Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, Absence/Occupied
– Gallery 5, Richmond, VA, Mixed media installation. With Signs Following
2011
– “Nepotism,” Studio Two Three Gallery, Richmond, VA, Convention
2010
– Plant Zero, Studio Two Three Exhibit, Richmond, VA, Haitian Relief
2007
– Provisions Library, Washington, DC, Floating Lab Collective, Protesting On Demand
Screenings
2013
– National Geographic, Snake Salvation, ‐Including footage from ‘With Signs Following’
– On Photography Film Festival, Holland, FotoWeek, With Signs Following
– The Foundry Site Film Series, Cohoes, NY, 10 Blocks
– Green Unplugged Festival, San Fransisco, CA, Maharashtra, India, and
Aukland, New Zealand, Occupy America
2012
– Endless Plain, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, California, 10 Blocks
– Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA, Occupy America
– Docs In Progress, George Washington University, Washington, DC, 10 Blocks
– Direct To Video, Byrd Theatre, Richmond, VA, 10 Blocks
– West Virginia Short Film Festival, Occupy America
– James River Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Occupy America
2011
– James River Shorts Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Convention
– Occupied Media, Gallery 5, Richmond, VA, Occupy America
– Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA, Convention
– VCU Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Convention
– West Virginia Mountaineer Film Festival, Morgantown, WV, Convention
– Hold Still, Keep Moving: James River Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Convention
– James River Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Convention, Adolf, and Ben
– Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, Convention
– Feedback: Video By Artists, Richmond, VA, Convention
– James River Filmmakers Forum, Richmond, VA, Ben, and Egg Hunt
2010
– Virginia Film Festival, Digital Media Gallery, Charlottesville, VA, Ben
– VCU Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Ben
Curation
2012
– “The Occupied Moment,” James River Film Festival, Richmond, VA
Awards, Grants, and Fellowships
2014
– Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship
– Puffin Foundation Project Grant
– Pollination Project Impact Grant
– Society for Photographic Educators, Image Maker Award, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– American University, Bleakhouse Publishing, Social Justice Advocacy Award
– CultureWorks RVA, Cultural District Project Award
2013
– PhotoWings / Ashoka U Insight Changemaker Project Grant
– Deans Award / Best In Show, Lisa Freiman, Senior curator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, VCU Undergraduate Juried Exhibit
– Pollination Project, Project Grant, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Society for Photographic Education SE Undergraduate Award
– VCU Arts Undergraduate Research Grant
2012
– Pollack Photography/Film Undergraduate Research Grant
– VCU Photography/Film Department Junior of the year
Political Theme
– VCU Photography and Film PoHo Humongous Award
2011
– VCU Film Festival, Richmond, VA, Third prize, Convention
2010
– VCU film festival, Audience Choice Award, Ben
Scholarships
2014
– Look 3, Look Between, One of 75 international photographers chosen to present at the festival
2013
– Look 3 Photography Festival Education Week Scholarship
2012
– VCU Arts Covington Scholarship
– VCU Arts John Roos Memorial Scholarship
2011
– School of the Arts Dean’s Scholarship
Lectures / Presentations
2015
– CAA National Conference, NYC, “Alternative Exhibitions”
– Open Engagement, “Shifting Culture, Shifting Policy” Moderated by Raquel De Anda
– Fighting Innequality, “How to Photograph People Without Shaming Them”
– Queens Museum, NYC, Photography as a Social Practice
– University of Michigan, Residence College, “Cultural Organizing, Art as Activism”
– Parsons at the New School, These Images Wont Tell You What You Want: Collaborative Photography and Social Justice
– Fleisher Art Memorial, “Discourses on Collaboration”
2014
– Open Engagement, In partnership with the Magnum Foundation, Aperture, and the Open Societies Foundation, at the Aperture Foundation, NYC, Photography As A Social Practice, Panelist
– Marking Time: Prison Arts and Activism, Rutgers University, Windows Form Prison
– Society for Photographic Education, National Conference, Image Makers, Some Other Places We’ve Missed
– Art Librarians Society of North America, National Conference, The People’s Library
– Beyond the Walls: Prison Health Care & Reentry Summit, Philadelphia, PA, Windows From Prison
– Columbia College’s Center for Book and Paper Arts, ‘Social Paper,’ Chicago, IL, The People’s Library
– Joan Oates Institute, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA
2013
– Southeastern College Art Conference, “Letting go of the Shutter; Investigating the Social Aesthetics of Contemporary Photography”
– Open Engagement, Portland, OR, The People’s Library
– Richmond Zine Fest, The People’s Library
– Joan Oates Institute, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, The People’s Library
– VCU Art Space, Richmond, VA, Write Home Soon
2012
– Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Write Home Soon
– Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC, Write Home Soon
– Sponge HQ, Richmond, VA, Write Home Soon
– George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, Write Home Soon
Residencies
2014
SPACES at the Village of Arts and Humanities, Philadelphia, PA
2012
– Habitat for Artists, Washington, DC
Programing
2015
– Open Engagement, “Touching Revolution, Radical Visions and Creative Responses to Mass Incarceration,” with Courtney Bowles and Gregory Sales
2013
– “More Than a Witness; Photography as Socially Engaged Art,” Panelists: David Levi Strauss, Yukiko Yamagata, Edgar Endress and Mattnew Slatts, Charlotteville, VA
2012
– “Hold Still, Keep Moving,” James River Film Festival, Richmond, VA
2011
– “Hold Still, Keep Moving,” James River Film Festival, Richmond, VA
Independent Studies
– Brian Ulrich; Virginia Commonwealth University, Photo/Film, Fall 2012
– Mary Beth Reed; Virginia Commonwealth University, Cinema, Fall 2011
– Edgar Endress; George Mason University, New Media, Spring 2007
Writing
– “Photographer Eric Gottesman collaborates with Ethiopian teens to make incredibly powerful images,” Featureshoot, January 28th, 2015
http://www.featureshoot.com/2015/01/photographer-eric-
gottesman-collaborates-with-ethiopian-teens-to-make-
incredibly-powerful-images/
– “Picturing Us…” Sonia Louise Davis, Community Photography, and the Experienced Moment,” Photography As a Social Practice, July 28th, 2014
http://www.asocialpractice.com/picturing-us-sonia-davis/
– “Alyse Emdur’s Prison portraits set against idyllic backdrops offer temporary escape” Featureshoot, February 13th, 2014
Editing/Criticism
– Photography As a Social Practice, co-founder, editor, and writer, February 2014-present
http://www.asocialpractice.com/
Some Press
Rena Silverman, “Windows Without Prison Bars,” The NY Times Lens Blog, July 3rd, 2014.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/windows-without-prison-bars/
Nick Kirkpatrick, “What D.C. prison inmates wish they could see from behind bars,” The Washington Post, October 6th, 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/06/what-d-c-prison-inmates-wish-they-could-see-from-behind-bars/
Ariel Min, “An artist sent prisoners blank postcards — look at what he got back,” PBS Newshour, November 6th, 2014
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/an-artist-sent-prisoners-blank-post-cards-look-at-what-he-got-back/
“Portfolio: Windows From Prison, Mark Strandquist,” Afterimage Vol. 42, no.2, Fall 2014
http://vsw.org/afterimage/2014/08/09/portfolio-windows-from-prison-by-mark-strandquist/
Carolina Miranda, “Gut-wrenching photo evidence from Brown vs. Plata in ‘Prison Obscura’,” LA Times, September 8th, 2014
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-prison-obscura-scripps-college-photo-show-brown-plata-20140906-column.html#page=1
“Beyond bars: US prisoners on the view they’d most like to see from their cells – in pictures,” The Guardian, August 5th, 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/aug/05/windows-from-prison-view-jail-cells-project-us-inmates-in-pictures
Pete Brook, “At Look3 Not to be Missed, Some Other Places We’ve Missed,” Prison Photography, June 12th, 2013
http://prisonphotography.org/2013/06/12/at-look3-not-to-be-missed-some-other-places-weve-missed/
Jenna Garret, “Photographer collaborates with prisoners to document meaningful places from their past,” Feature Shoot, September 11, 2013
http://www.featureshoot.com/2013/09/photographer-collaborates-with-prisoners-to-document-meaningful-places-from-their-past/
Ryan Claringbole, “The Peoples’ Library: By the People, For the People,” Library as Incubator Project
http://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/?p=10271
Steve Mencher, “A Library for the People,” AARP, September 2013
http://pubs.aarp.org/aarpbulletin/201309_DC?folio=8#pg8
Taylor Malmsheimer, “In Richmond, Va., you don’t have to be famous to have your story in the library,” NY Daily News, April 16th 2013
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/richmond-va-don-famous-story-library-blog-entry-1.1640344
Michael O’Sullivan, “The Ripple Effect: Currents of Socially Engaged Art,” The Washington Post, November 2, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/exhibits/the-ripple-effect-currents-of-socially-engaged-art,1235696.html#reviewNum1