Between the Lines

Between the Lines is a series of art workshops by correspondence that took place between October 2020 and July 2021 with LGBTQ+ individuals currently incarcerated in Florida.

The United States has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world with more than 2.3 million people in the prison system. LGBTQ+ people are three times more likely to be incarcerated than other individuals. In this context, the simple act of writing a letter becomes a profound way to breach the barriers created by prison walls. The workshop packages included drawing and writing prompts, blank paper, envelopes, and stamps. Over time, they expanded to include resources for advocacy and chapters from books. Correspondence was not only one-way: collaborators asked me to post personal ads online, forward complaints to state agencies, check on account holds, and connect them to new friends.

What emerged was a much more expansive picture of how prison conditions are designed to deprive people of human dignity. Despite the harshness of prison environments, the artists and poets who participated in Between the Lines expressed the complexities of their situation with refreshing frankness, humor, insight, and grace. As you read, ask yourself: “What does justice look like when it upholds compassion for all people?”

Participating artists: Tiffany Ann, Kelvin Frazier, Willie McPhee, Lil Flip, Scott Munro, Bro. Truth, Maurice Young & Anonymous.

Between the Lines art workshops were supported by a community engagement grant from We, Women Photo. The work of Between the Lines participating artists will be featured in The Power of We, a large-scale public art exhibition, organized by We, Women Photo, that will travel across the U.S. to venues in Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, and New Orleans during Fall 2021 and Spring 2022.

On October 27, 2021, Between the Lines hosted its first public event, a print launch and poetry reading, at the Center for Book Arts. We presented six poetry and print collaborations between NYC-based artists and artists/writers incarcerated in Florida and Texas: Claudia Cortínez + Scott Munro; Faride Mereb + Master Ramsey-El; Adama Delphine Fawundu + Bro. Truth; Alix Pentecost-Farren + Maurice Young; Oswaldo García + Willie McPhee; and Rowan Renee + Edee Allynnah Davis.

Between the Lines Broadsides are available to purchase, with 100% of proceeds donated to support incarcerated artists and writers.