This Is Me Art
Let’s Get Free’s 7th Art show
Show runs Nov 1 – Nov. 26
The Irma Freeman Center for Imagination
5006 Penn Avenue | Garfield
Art on poster by Natasha Stover
Gallery Hours
Fridays, 12-7pm
Saturdays, 12-5pm
Sundays, 12-5pm
Come visit the show – consider scheduling a video visit with your incarcerated loved one and take them on a tour. Wifi connections available if you want to bring a laptop or just zoom from your phone.
Opening and Auction Launch
Friday November 1
6 -9pm
Auction will kick off on November 1st both in person and online. There will also be a Grab & Go art sale, Quilt Raffle and food & beverages. The auction will run until November 18th at 8pm.
Gallery Tour and Art Discussion
Saturday, November 2
2 – 3:30pm
Join us for a gallery tour and in depth conversation about the art with focus on art coming from the inside. One intention is to get feedback to the incarcerated artists. We have heard time and again that “contests are great but hearing from people who have seen the art means the world.”
Anti-zionist Minyan Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, November 8
7-9:30 pm (doors at 6:30)
Lovingly Jewish, unequivocally anti-zionist. Join us and Let’s Get Free as we welcome in Shabbat with prayer, song, and poetry written by incarcerated writers from PA to Palestine. Our service will be followed by a vegetarian potluck & community building. All who are respectful of the space’s intentions are welcome. Mir veln iberlebn tsiunizm un turme – we will outlive zionism and prisons! 🍉🕯️✨
Beyond Borders: Political Persecution & International Struggles
Thursday, 11/14
7 – 9pm
Irma Freeman Center for Imagination
Join us THIS Thursday, Nov. 14 from 7-9pm at Irma Freeman Center for Imagination for a creative presentation followed by a public discussion on carceral systems, policing, & their role in political repression featuring Pittsburgh-based international artists/writers: Mai Khôi (Vietnam) and Abdelrahman ElGendy (Egypt), moderated by Omid Shekari (Iran)
How are systems of policing & incarceration across different political & geographical contexts connected? How does political repression in places beyond the US illuminate political repression here? How can we organize more strategically & in solidarity with international movements to abolish prisons & policing with these insights?
️Mai Khoi is an award-winning singer, composer, and activist, who has been living in exile in the US since 2019. Mai Khoi has worked on various projects including Bad Activist, an autobiographical multimedia stage show that combines original music, projections, archival footage, and storytelling to fiercely advocate for democracy and freedom of expression in Vietnam and around the world.
️Abdelrahman ElGendy is an Egyptian writer and translator from Cairo based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A former six-year political prisoner in Egypt between 2013 and 2020, Abdelrahman writes about counter-narratives, state-manufactured archival silences, and abolishing empathy as an extension of colonial violence.
️Omid Shekari is an Iranian artist whose work captures stories which speak universally about how force & violence determine the rhythms and laws of power in human experience.
Artist Lecture at CMU w/ jackie sumell from Solitary Gardens!
Tuesday, 11/19
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Kresge Theatre, 4919 Frew Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
jackie sumell is a multidisciplinary artist and abolitionist inspired most by the lives of everyday people. Her work has been successfully anchored at the intersection of activism, education, mindfulness practices and art for nearly two decades, and it has been exhibited extensively throughout the world.
Crafting Abolition In Real Life
w/ Special Guest Cedar Annenkovna
Saturday, 11/23
2 – 5pm
Irma Freeman Center for Imagination
2pm Artist Talk w/ Cedar – Cedar has been collaborating with LGF for several years and was released from the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility in July. Cedar will share what it is like to be an artist in prison and co-create with us.
Crafting Abolition has been an online space to co-create from home. We bring this practice into the gallery to co-create in real life surrounded by art. Cedar will share what it is like to be an artist in prison and co-create with us. It’s BYOC people! That’s Bring Your Own Craft. There will be a few hands on activities.
Art Auction Winner Pick Up
Sunday, 11/24
12-5pm
This is the last day to see the show. Auction winners please pick up your art on this day. If this day doesn’t work we can make other arrangements. Auction Contact: auctionlgf@gmail.com