Abolitionist Expressions
January 19 – February 13
Gallery Hours 10 -4pm
60 pieces of the permanent collection on display in two rooms the average size of solitary confinement cells.
Susan and Benjamin
Winter Visual Art Center
825 Buchanon Ave,
Lancaster, PA 17603
Contact: etta (at) letsgetfree.info
Gallery Guide
Read more about each artist by clicking the link associated with the title of thier piece. Thank to Reckoning Lancaster, The Lancaster Bail Fund and Franklin & Marshall College for hosting the Permanent Collection. Check out Let’s Get Free, Solidarity Not Solitary, Free Our People and the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration to get involved in the statewide resistance to mass incarceration.
1. Harriet Tubman by Dominic Newsome, Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 11 x 11.5, 2024
Healthcare for All
2. Lady in the Shadows by Kamdyn Alexis Love and Steven Musser, Acrylic Board, Handball, Acrylic Paint, Watercolor Paint, Chew Can Lid, Boxer Shorts Material, Medicine Cups, Q-Tip, Head Phone Wire, Laundry Bag Draw String, Thread, Tape, Glitter, Gel, Acrylic Paper, Pen and Pencil, Kneadable Eraser, Glitter Paint, Mascara, 12 x 18 inches, 2024
When asked what the figure was at the bottom of the piece was, Alexis replied, “That’s the old me.”
3. The State of ID by Kal El, Gilclee print of acrylic painting, 11 x 14, 2024
Kal’s Webiste: https://z-coded.org/ bio on Rainbow Serpent a Pittsburgh based arts group.
3A. Kai the Hyena by Chaco Iwase and Zhi Kai Vanderford, Stuffed Animal: Fleece, Faux Fur, Felt, Lash Extensions, Aluminum, Velcro, Plastic Head to Toe: 17″ , Snout to Tail: 21″ 2024
Chaco Iwase and Zhi Kai Vanderford are friends and artistic collaborators. Zhi Kai is a trans artist and activist who has been incarcerated for the last 36 years since age 19, spending most of his sentence in women’s facilities until his transfer to a men’s facility in December. He will die in prison if he isn’t granted parole. Over the last 7 months, they have bonded over shared artistic interests and personal experiences. Zhi Kai imagined a “touchable and cuddly” stuffed hyena.
4. No Pride for Some of Us by Micah Bazant Print of watercolor, 12″ x 15” 2013
Golden Labor
5. Mass Incarceration is a Labor Issue by Merideth Stern, 2 color Reduction Linoleum Block Print, Signed, limited edition of 28 36 x 24 2014 This is a print that I made for the Justseeds installation in Milwuakee based around Labor Issues. An incarcerated woman in a Department of Corrections uniform sews while in a scene below her a woman interviews for a job. The tethered butterflies symbolize a yearning for freedom for the woman above, while the bars along the bottom represent the barriers which exist for people who seek employment once released from prison. The text reads: Mass incarceration is a labor issue. Put an end to the war on drugs. While incarcerated people can be paid as little as 23 cents per hour to work for private corporations. Once released, ex felons face discrimination when seeking employment and social services.
6. Cornerstone by Ajamu Olushegun Iyapo, Mixed media: cardboard, cloth, acrylic, ink, colored pencil, 10.75 x 13.25, 2024 Artist statement: “Meaning: To resemble a carved granite cornerstone. This is to say that my life still has value and the strength to be the cornerstone of my family and the community. The engraved metal is written in “Afrikan Diasporic Glyph”, a Diasporic Afrikan writing-style. Message written in ADG: This is me, a creation of god, who is more than any title bestowed upon me by man. I am an amalgamation of diverse educational, familial, spiritual, and artistic ideologies that reflect many in society. Simply stated, this is me a human being, flaws and all, and truely blessed.”
7. Diasporic Afrikan by Ajamu Olushegun Iyapo, Medium: Acrylic and colored pencil on cloth 8.5 x 11.75, 2024, Artist statement: “Meaning: This is me, a diasporic Afrikan who is made up of several ethnic groups, but is still god’s blessed creation. Message wrote in Afrikan Diasporic Glyph (ADG): Seek the place of honor and respect and accomplishment in this world for you will become a revered ancestor.”
Yaya and Omid
8. Give Me Your Guts by Omid Shekari Materials: Ink, gauche and powdered bullet shells on Paper 13 x 17 inches 2019 This piece was part of a series of drawings that aim to depict the relationship between institutional threat through violence and subsequent individual obedience. People of Iran have been trapped between the Islamic Republic state’s brutal oppressions in Iran and United States imperialism with its economic sanctions and military operations in the region.
9. Invisible Life Series: Untitled 1 (I can again) James Yaya Hough, institutional paper, ink, pencil 8.5 x 11, 2008 -2016
10. Invisible Life Series: Untitled 2 (Nightstick) by James Yaya Hough, institutional paper, ink, pencil 8.5 11 2008 -2016
11. Invisible Life Series: Untitled 6 (Graterford) by James Yaya Hough, institutional paper, ink, pencil, watercolor , 11 x 17.25 , 2008 -2016
12. Invisible Life Series: Untitled 3 (Chess piece, ice) James Yaya Hough institutional paper, ink, pencil, 8.5 11, 2008 -2016
Working in ballpoint pen, pencil, and watercolor, often on the backs of bureaucratic prison forms, James “Yaya” Hough’s work conveys the burdens of incarcerated life, revealing not only the brutal reach of the carceral system, but laying bare its affects. Sentenced to life without parole in 1992, Hough went to prison at age 17; after 27 years, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that such sentences for juveniles is unconstitutional, and Hough was released. The artist, both independently, and as a member of a network of other artists who share a similar history, is one of the key voices working at the intersection of art and the criminal justice system today. Follow Yaya on Instagram: @hough9459
Solitary Art
13. Solitary by Todd Hyung Rae Tarselli, instant coffee on a paper bag, 15″ x 11″ 2020Solitary was done by using the instant coffee packets found in the “lockdown bags” (breakfast bags given during a typical lockdown). This piece shows a portrait of someone looking through the food slot while being held in a solitary confinement unit. People in solitary are held for 23 hours a time and let out for one hour day into a giant dog- like kennel/cage for “rec”.
14. The Cage 3837 by Jurijus Kadamovas, Mixed media, including pieces of his prison cell wall, 24 x 16, 2024
15. Night Owl by Todd Hyung Rae Tarselli, acrylic on leaf, 9.2 X 8, 2024
18. Letter from Big Jah by T. Foley, Embroidery on thrift store embroidery, 12 x 12, 2018 Jimmie “Big Jah” Greer was incarcerated at the Super Max prison, Wallens Ridge, in the western part of Virginia. This quote was pulled from a letter written to etta probably around 2007. Big Jah is a justice hearted writer and holy man. When searching for him a decade later his name couldn’t be found. Hopefully he has left prison far behind and is living his best life. If you know him, tell him etta wants to say hi!
19. If the Clothes Fit by Jess Lopez, Clothes from PA Prison, 2023
End Solitary Photo Wall
The two laminated quotes are from a letter by Black Feelings describing being in the RHU (restricted housing unit) You can read the whole letter in the binder of letters on the table. The photos are a mix of people from PA prisons and USP Hazelton. A federal prison 2 hours south of Pittsburgh. etta makes the banners.
Conditions of Confinement
20. Untitled by Benji Hill, pencil , 12″ x 9″, 2024
21. This Time is Killing Me by Duane Montney, 2020, long time collaborator with etta, Duane was released from a juvenile life sentence in the state of Michigan in 2023.
22. Life Without Parole by Augustin Gallardo. Pencil, 6.25″ x 4.7″, 2005, collaboration with the Prison Poster Project
23. Who learns from this? by James Marschner, pen and pencil, 11″ x 8.5” 2020
24. Self Portrait by Augustin Gallardo, pencil, 7.5″ x 9″, 2005, collaboration with the Prison Poster Project
Commutation Now
25. This Was, Will & Will Be Me by Tito McGill, Pen & Ink on Paper, 12″ x 18″, 2024
This banner shows the main points of the petition for the Commutation Now! Campaign, who hand delivered the petition to the Governor Shapiro’s office in Harrisburg last May. Sign the petition for Commutation Reform Here.
Joseph Eaddy Re:Mail
26. Claudia Jones by Joseph Eaddy, acrylic on paper, 2 feet by 3 feet, 2025
Claudia Vera Jones (née Cumberbatch; 21 February 1915 – 24 December 1964) was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the United States, where she became a Communist, political activist, feminist and Black nationalist, adopting the name Jones as “self-protective disinformation”. Due to the political persecution of Communists in the US, she was deported in 1955 and subsequently lived in the United Kingdom. She then founded Britain’s first major Black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette, in 1958, and organised a series of indoor Caribbean carnivals from 1959 that have been cited as an influence on what became the Notting Hill Carnival, the second-largest annual carnival in the world.
27. Anne Braden by Joseph Eaddy, acrylic on paper, 2 feet by 3 feet, 2025
Anne McCarty Braden (July 28, 1924 – March 6, 2006) was an American civil rights activist, journalist, and educator dedicated to the cause of racial equality.[1] She and her husband bought a suburban house for an African American couple during Jim Crow. White neighbors burned crosses and bombed the house. During McCarthyism, Anne was charged with sedition. She wrote and organized for the southern civil rights movement before violations became national news. Anne was among nation’s most outspoken white anti-racist activists, organizing across racial divides in environmental, women’s, and anti-nuclear movements.
etta writes: At a banquet held at SCI Dallas state prison in 2025 i ran into Joey who was the main inside coordinator of the event. He asked about Let’s Get Free members Anne Braden and Claudia Jones. These names are on the email accounts that Let’s Get Free uses to communicate with people in prison. We used to explain to everyone (currently 850 people) that these accounts are volunteer accounts and different people use them. Alas, even when individual volunteers signed their names, people in prison were always confused. So we gave in and let Anne and Claudia be the collective voice of Let’s Get Free. These names are quite popular throughout PA prisons. A few weeks after i explained this to Joey he sent these paintings an homage to the lifeline of communication and the real life legacy of two amazing women.
Matt Matteo & Mark Loughney
28. Free Your Mind by Matthew Matteo, oil on canvas, 14′ x 14″, May 13, 2000
29. Q-Bert Cells by Matthew Matteo, watercolor and pen, 15″ x 15″, 1999
30. Depression by Matthew Matteo, acrylic on canvas, 16″ x 16″, 1999
Let’s Get Free members, Alan Lewandowski and etta cetera came upon the profound artwork of Matthew Matteo in the Green Lantern Gallery in Greensburg, PA. We purchased these three paintings there for our collection. We have looked for Matthew who has been released from prison for quite some time but have not been able to contact him. His artwork is recognizable to others who have been in PA prisons. According to Yusef Jones, his depiction of the cell in the piece called, “Depression, is one of the most accurate renditions of a prison cell he had seen.
31. Bubblewrap Lockdown by Mark Loughney, acrylic on canvasboard, 16 X 20, 2020
Mark writes: ” I call these little striped characters Botflies. They’re pupae…and they represent a transitional life stage. Their black and white stripes are indicative of a prisoner, but they seem to have an innate bouncy joyfulness that seems ready to bust out of their shiny chitinous exoskeleton. Prison is a land of repetition and regimentation, so I’ve depicted that in my paintings by organizing my Botflies into rows and columns. “
Mark is FREE! Mark’s Website
Wall of Women Artists
31. Second Chances by Melanie Ray, acrylic on canvas paper, 12 x 16, 2024 Most days I feel as tho I am stuck in the Twilight Zone. Like my life is in suspension and I’m just waiting for that window of opportunity to open. The Roman numerals represent the 13 years of my life spent here, wasted youth. But it formed the adult I am today, ready to land on both feet and show the world that there is hope yet. #SecondChances
32. Be Not Afraid of Change by Latosha Gross, cross stitch, 6″ x 5″ 2020
33. An Untimely Death by Shonda Walter, Ball point pen and manilla folder, 11″ x 17″, 2020 This is what I’ve felt like my 17 years in prison. I survived death row to still be crushed by the sands of time of a life sentence without parole and I hope it fits your premise…
34. Me in a Nut Shell by Alisha Singletary, Pencil & Colored Pencil, 9.5 x 8.5, 2024
I was trying to portray a chaotic life with a chaotic view. It looks all over the place because that was the vision.
35. BLM by Angela Hellman, colored pencil and pen, 14.5″ x 8.75″ 2020
Originally I put together the BLM piece without knowing the topic of the contest however it speaks loudly on the movement that is currently going on. So I would like to submit it considering that African American men and women all over the country are being targeted and are losing their lives at the hands of police, correction officers, judges, etc, inside and outside of prison Death By Incarceration upon arrest and while incarcerated, in holding cells (Sandra Bland) and so on.
36. Daughters #12 Cover by Cedar Annenkovna, acrylic, 2024, Let’s Get Free commissioned Cedar to make this piece for our Magazine
37. My Life line by Alisha Singletary Colored Pencils 8.5 x 5.5 , 2024
I was trying to portray recovering from an eating disorder and mental health by incorporating the signs of awareness along with the words of hope – victim/survivor/thriver
38. What We Loose by Elena House-Hay, watercolor and pen on water color paper, 12″ x 9″ 2020
My piece is titled “What We Lose” and is about the hardships that women experience in prison. We are challenged and depleted in mind, body, and spirit, sometimes by those who are tasked with taking care of us. The building in my painting represents the DOC and the industrial factory of flesh that it is. The text in the windows comes from common phrases I’ve heard from nurses, guards, and other staff. I chose the words because they are both invalidating and routine. The hand and the words outside the building represent the experience of the outside family as they witness the process of incarceration. Lastly, the cold claws reaching out of the building are symbolic of the heartless ingress and egress to and from the system that has left many people feeling as though their flesh and life has been stripped away. The purple skin tone is meant to make the figures universally relatable.
Free Her
39. Doors Of Freedom by Cyd Berger, crosstitch, 16” x 8”, 2023
40. Bird Free Cage by Marsha Scaggs, cross stitch, 6.25″ x 5.25″, 2019
41. Unforgiveness Keeps Us Stuck by Madeline Moyta, Lino Block Print, 12 x 18, 2020 When I chose to quote Cyd Berger and sketch her portrait, I had been mulling over statements for some time and found this particular one to help shed light on how in the world it could be that the state is still incarcerating people without proper re-evaluations; for that matter, why prisons exist at all. Has not humanity come farther than that towards a greater understanding of the trials some face throughout the course of their lives? But the answer is clear. The bounds of an unforgiving society send human beings away to die because they do not understand the concept of forgiveness ; or the power of transformation, transfiguration. I think Cyd hit on a foundational problem and that beginning to discuss forgiveness further in all its difficult complexities could help others see what is really going on in this fight, a fight for those that are unduly, unmercilessly judged and barred.
42. So Many Ways to Get Free by Jennifer Busbey, Pencil & Colored Pencil 7.5 in x 7.5, 2024
43. Grow Where You Are Planted by Nichole Pariah Hollingsworth pencil 9″ x 12″, 2020 I dedicate my piece to my best friend “50” here at FCI-Aliceville. She is the definition of growing where you’re planted and has bloomed into a beautiful woman despite her circumstances.
44. Contumelious by Anntonésa Woodard, pencil on paper 3″ X 5″ 2023 There is a poem that goes with this on website , Contumelious by Anntonésa Woodard, Pen and pencil
45. End Death by Incarceration by Angela Hellman, colored pencil and pen on manilla envelope 14.5″ x 9″, 2020 My second piece speaks for itself as a woman with a life sentence visits with her daughter and grandchild sick and immobile but still forced to spend her final days of life talking through glass without the comfort of physical contact. If you could contact me once you receive this via kiosk messaging or mail, and let me know your opinions and inform me that you received it I would appreciate it.
No Prisons
46. Raffle! Woman in Pink from Jicarilla Apache Nation by Dominic Newsome – 18 x 24 Painting on Canvas 2025
47. Raffle! Queen Mother by Ajamu Olushegun Iyapo Medium: Acrylic, Color pencil, ink, Artist: Date Made: May 2025, Size: 9 x 12
48. No Interpreter No Justice by David Ramirez, Print of original: Pencil, 8 x 5.5 2023 “David Ramirez was a minor when he stood in a Philadelphia courtroom facing homicide charges in 2008. Less than a year prior, he came to Pennsylvania from Ciales, Puerto Rico to unite with his family. Ramirez lacked English proficiency enough that he was enrolled into English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) classes at school. However, no interpreter was provided for him during any hearing throughout the trial proceeding. Even though the Pennsylvania interpreter Act was passed into law in 2006.
According to Article 1: Section 9: of the Pennsylvania Constitution: every defendant is guaranteed the right to be heard of oneself. David Ramirez was deprived of this right. Now as a grown man seeks relief from his unfair hearings. There can be no justice where the kind of trial he receives depends on what language is spoken.
49. Empty Pedestals: Christopher Columbus, Richmond, Virginia by Shaun Slifer, marker & ink on paper 5.5” x 8.5”, 2020 Public statuary pedestals, without their original statuary, drawn during the uprisings of the summer of 2020.
50. Ice on Fire by Nicholas Lampert, Silk Screen, 10.5 in. x 9.5 in, March 2025 Communities organizing against ICE terror. (you can buy this print online at Justseeds)
No Borders
51. Mumia by Zamer, Lino Block Print, 9 x 12, 2018
“This print was given away for free at an event for Mumia Abu Jamal in Mexico City. Mumia Abu Jamal is an award-winning broadcast journalist, essayist, and author of 12 books. Most recently, he’s edited Beneath the Mountain: An Anti-Prison Reader and authored the historic trilogy Murder Incorporated.
In the late 1970s, Abu-Jamal worked as a reporter for radio stations throughout the Delaware Valley. He was a staff reporter for WUHY (now WHYY), the NPR flagship station, and he filed nationally for All Things Considered and the Morning Report. Along with his team at Philadelphia’s WUHY, he won the prestigious Major Armstrong Award (1980) from Columbia University for excellence in broadcasting. In 1981, Abu-Jamal was elected president of the Association of Black Journalists’ Philadelphia chapter.
For the past 38 years, Abu-Jamal has lived in state prison. 28 of those years were spent in solitary confinement on death row. Currently, he’s serving life without parole at SCI Mahanoy in Frackville, PA. Abu-Jamal’s 1982 trial and its resultant first-degree murder conviction have been criticized as unconstitutionally corrupt by legal and activist groups for decades, including by Amnesty International and Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, and Desmond Tutu.
52. Serenity Within Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli, watercolor 11 x 16 2022
53. Mexico City Runway by John Zenc, Mixed media on paper, 14 x 9, 1981
55. Justice is Ashamed by Todd “Hyung-Rae” Tarselli acrylic, paper bag, 14″ x 17″ 2024
56. 1970 from Within by John Zenc, Colored pencils on Construction Paper, 14 x 9 , 1982
Prayer For Justice
57. Rosa Parks by Dominic Newsome Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 20 x 16, 2024
58. Forever and a day Ulric Joseph, Medium: Oil and plexigass on wood and Masonite Size: 24′ x 34′ 2023 Artist bio: @ulric_joseph
59. Horse Power by Brianna Hallowell, crossstitch, 9″ x 7″, 2025 These horses were stitched by Brianna Hallowell (SCI Muncy) at Sarita Miller’s request as a thank you to Let’s Get Free. Sarita is the editor of Daughters Magazine So beautiful! That horse power keeps us going! Thank you Brianna and Sarita!!
60. Prayer for Justice by Cedar Annenkovna Paint Markers on Muslin, 3 ft x 2 ft, 2025 Cedar made this prayer during the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI Caravan). This was a 7 stop state wide tour across Pennsylvania in effort to build our movement to end life without parole sentencing in PA.
Cedar’s instagram
Artist talk with Cedar in Pittsburgh at Let’s Get Free’s Art Show “This Is Me” 2024, December.
The Banners
The banners are made by hot glue gun aficionado and permanent collection curator etta cetera.