Gallery Talk and Poetry Reading

“Finding Hope Within: Healing & Transformation Through the Making of Art Within the Carceral System”

Thursday, Jan. 29; starts at 5:30pm

Speakers:
Anna Jennings
Heather Newcomb
John Vincent

TO RSVP:  Please email [email protected] or call 802-775-0356

John Vincent
John will explain the origins of the Finding Hope Within exhibition, placing it in the larger context of art making in correctional facilities in the United States, and its positive impact on the artists, their families, and correctional staff. He will also talk about how A Revolutionary Press collaborates in papermaking and printmaking with incarcerated poets and artists in Vermont, as well as other states.

BIO: Retired police officer, letterpress printer, poet, and director of A Revolutionary Press, a 501c3 nonprofit, volunteer run collective of artists in service to the Common Good, based in New Haven, Vermont.

Anna N. Jennings
Anna’s intention when facilitating a weekly poetry group at Southern State Correctional Facility is to provide connection — connection to poetry, to oneself and to the community. She welcomes opportunities to bring work by incarcerated individuals to a larger audience. 

BIO: Volunteers at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vermont, where she leads a weekly poetry group. Retired from therapeutic work in the field of behavioral health, she holds a masters degree in art therapy and a certificate in creative writing. Jennings collaborates with John Vincent of A Revolutionary Press to assist prisoners in letterpress production of their poetry and art. 

Heather Newcomb
As co-curator, Heather was able to connect with many of the artists to learn the motivations and purpose of the artwork they created. She will discuss specific pieces from the exhibit and share their meanings to the artist and ways that art contributes to their healing during incarceration. Heather will speak to the isolation felt during incarceration and how art contributes to building and maintaining connection to family & community. She will also share some missed benefits that more artistic programs could foster so people can return to community with more purpose and direction for reintegration.

BIO: As a program manager at Vermont Works for Women (VWW), Heather creates programming for women to discover their unique strengths, overcome obstacles, and challenge limiting beliefs that keep them from living their destiny. She currently assists women recently released from incarceration during the re-entry transition. In addition to her work at VWW, Heather is also an advocate for expanding awareness about the impacts of incarceration and the systemic barriers that create disparities for those impacted by our legal system, and is a co-curator of this traveling art exhibit featuring works by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated VT artists.