Selections from Let’s Get Free’s Permanent Collection
Gallery Night: Friday, September 18 | 5:00 – 8:00 pm
See over 30 pieces of art & get a tour
Artist Talk Saturday, September 19 | 5:00–7:00 pm
Talk begins at 6:00 PM w/ Antonio Howard and etta cetera
Erie Arts & Culture 419 State Street, Floor C2, Erie, PA 16501
Gallery Hours:
Mon – Wed | 10 AM – 4 PM
Thurs – Fri | By appointment only
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The Long Hallway
1. Let’s Get Free by People’s Paper Co-op & Katy Kaplan, Multi layered Screenprint on paper made from criminal records, 11 x 20, 2022
“Let’s Get Free,” by the People’s Paper Co-op (PPC) made in collaboration with Katie Kaplan in 2022. Featuring PPC fellow Ivy Johnson, the print raised money to pay for billboards across PA created by the PPC and Lets Get Free. This multi layered screenprint is designed and printed on criminal records that were pulped to create new sheets of handmade paper. The billboard was placed around the state of Pennsylvania including Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and along the PA Turnpike. Tameka Flowers, Charmaine Pfender and Sarita Miller who are featured on the billboard are all currently serving life sentences in PA and are featured in several films.
2. The State of ID by Kal El, giclee print of acrylic painting, 11 x 14, 2024
“Z-Coding is taking something normalized and making it different. My purpose in my art is to show that different is also beautiful. Painting is my way of coping with social anxiety, depression, and anger. Music inspires my colors and emotions determine what visual effects will speak from my canvas.”
Kal El’s Website: https://z-coded.org/
3. Daughters #18 Cover: Toxic Masculinity by Kal El, 9 x 12, 2026
“We are made of all of those who have built and broken us.” -Atticus is a quote listed on this illustration that was commissioned for a Daughters Magazine cover.
4. Daughters #11 Cover by Marilyn Dobrolenski, acrylic on thick paper, 13.5 x 8.5, 2024 We commissioned “Dobe” to make this piece for our Daughters Magazine theme focused on children.
5. Who learns from this? By James Marschner by pen and pencil, 11 x 8.5, 2020
This simple pen drawing speaks volumes and was submitted to our 2020 art show themed End Death by Incarceration
6. So Many Ways to Get Free by Jennifer Busbey, Pencil & Colored Pencil, 7.5 in x 7.5, 2024
7. This Was, Will & Will Be Me by Tito McGill, Pen & Ink on Paper, 12 x 18, 2024
8. Contumelious by Anntonésa Woodard, pencil on paper, 4 x 6, 2023 – Poem on website
9. 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.
10. Self Portrait by Augustin Gallardo, pencil 7.5 x 9, 2005prisonposter project
11. Life Without Parole by Augustin Gallardo, pencil, 6.25 x 4.7, 2005
This illustration and Augusto’s self portrait are all that is left of the Prison Poster Project. A five person artist collective who set out to create a teaching tool about the prison system, designed in collaboration with and illustrated by people in prison. You can see the zine that was created to accompany a series of artwork that was meant to be a slide show, complete with quotes from prisoners to accompany the narrative. The overall concept had a cross-section of a prison with different issues in each cell. Agustin’s cell deals with the criminalization of youth as well as excessive sentencing that creates nursing homes in prisons across the country. In the reflection of a pocket watch a young boy in boot camp attire sees their reflection as an old man. An elder is seated on the bunk with the shadow of “life” between his feet. On the wall in the shadow of a cross, are pictures of generations of family growing up and changing without him.
12. 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
13. 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…
14. Still Hoping (For that ‘Wake Up Free’) by Darrell Van Mastrigt, acrylic on canvasboard, 15 x 19 2020All of us on the inside are waiting and hoping for that day we can ‘Wake up Free’ again. We hope for that day we can wake up with our family and loved one by our side and at home. Those on the outside are waiting and hoping for the day when their loved ones wake up at home with them. We are all “Still Hoping to be free one day together!”
15. Night Owl by Todd Hyung Rae Tarselli, acrylic on leaf, 9.2 X 8, 2024
16. The Cage 3837 by Jurijus Kadamovas Mixed media, including pieces of his prison cell wall, 24 x 16, 1024
17. Touch by Bruce Bainbridge, acrylic, 4 x 6, 2023
18. Be Not Afraid of Change by Latosha Gross, cross stitch, 6 x 5, 2020
19. 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.”
20. Doors Of Freedom by Cyd Berger, crosstitch 16 x 8, 2023 Cyd Berger was sentenced to life without parole in 1980. She is currently 70 years old and has served 46 years in prison. You can listen to her speaking from an interview in 1993 while Mary Dewitt paints her portrait in 2014.
21. 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.”
22. Harriet Tubman by Dominic Newsome, Acrylic on unstretched canvas 11 x 11.5, 2024
23. Daughters Cover #15 by Shonda Walter, acrylic paint on thin cardboard, 10 x 15, 2025
24. Q-Bert Cells by Matthew Matteo, watercolor and pen, 15 x 15, 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.
Corner Back Room
25. Free Your Mind by Matthew Matteo, oil on canvas, 14 x 14, May 13, 2000
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.
26. 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 cage for “rec”.
[Left to right: Sins of the Father by Antonio Howard, Allen Brown w/ My Spirit Bird and Antonio’s Juvenile Life Without Parole]
27. Sins of the Father: A Penny Short by Antonio Howard, acrylic on canvas, 4 ft x 3 ft
From Antonio’s website: “My name is Antonio Howard (Peggy’s son); I am an autodidactic Erie, Pennsylvania artist. At the young age of 15, I was incarcerated and sentenced to life in prison, where I served 26 ½ years. While in prison, I educated myself through instructional books on the concepts and processes of visual art.”
28. My Spirit Bird: Red Tail Hawk by Allen Brown, acrylic on paper, 11 x 14, 2026
29. Juvenile Life Without Parole by Antonio Howard, 4 ft x 4 ft, 2026
30. What We Lose 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.
Street Side Conference Room
31. 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.
32. We Are More Banners by Jenn Gooch, fabric, thread, 2024 These banners were made for the “We Are More” rally in Harrisburg advocating for legislation to end life without parole.
33. Sheená King by Chris St. Pierre, Paint on canvas, 5 ft x 5 ft, 2020 Chris responded to our 2020 call to art where artists on the outside read surveys by women serving life and then created art. At the time of this show, Sheená is still serving a life sentence tho she has her commutation application in. She just published a book this year called Submerged: On Healing from Abuse While Navigating a Lifetime of Imprisonment — available from PM Press.
34. Commutation, Petition Banners, 2025 Made by community members when the Commutation Now! campaign hand delivered over 1,000 signatures to the government. Sign our petition to make the board of pardons turn on their cameras and be seen on gallery view on the zoom hearings.
Conference Room Near Stairs —straight from elevator
35. If the Clothes Fit by Jess Lopez, Clothes from PA Prison, 2023 Jess wrote to LGF at the encouragement from Marie Mechie Scott while she was at Muncy, one of the two women prisons in the state of PA. Daughters magazine published her letters and stories and when she was released after an 18 month sentence joined the editorial collective on the outside. She snuck her browns out of the prison.
36. The Long Term by Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project, Series of 15 Risograph Prints 11 x 17 2018
Sara Ross of The Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project donated a series of 15 riso-prints called The Long Term, to our call for art in 2024. This gift was so precious we kept the portfolio for our Permanent Collection instead of auctioning it off. This series asks the question How long is long?—regarding prison sentences. This speaks to the desire of Let’s Get Free’s community in PA prisons who do not have a sentence of life without parole but to those that have “life by numbers” or “basketball numbers”. Let’s Get Free has devoted a great amount of energy focused on those with death by incarceration and this series helps us open the conversation to many who feel left out of our community organizing.
RISOGRAPHS
Between 2016 and 2018, artists, writers, and other members of the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project created a series of thematic works around long-term sentencing policies and the other long terms they produce: long-term struggles for freedom, long-term loss in communities, and long-term relationships behind the prison wall. These projects emerged out of classes and collaborative work at Stateville Prison, where people are serving extraordinarily long prison terms (whether life or 60, 70, and 80 years), often for crimes for which they would have already been released, had they been sentenced 30 years earlier, or in a different country.
Fifteen Chicago-area artists were invited to create print designs in response to essays from the P+NAP book, The Long Term: Resisting Life Sentences, Working for our Freedom (October 2018) that focuses on the issue of long term sentencing and the long term struggle for freedom, written by educators, activists, incarcerated people and formerly-incarcerated people. The portfolio of prints is one of the many attempts to make visible how punitive policies and incarceration negatively shape communities, families, and ultimately, life-chances.
Created by people in prison alongside artists on the outside who stand in solidarity with ending mass incarceration, Who We Have Become brings together drawings, paintings, prints, cross-stitch, banners, poetry, and more. The works share personal stories, reflect on conditions of confinement, offer social critique, and express hopes and aspirations for the future.
Let’s Get Free has spent more than a decade collaborating with artists in prison, with its permanent collection growing through annual art shows and exhibitions, including the 2020 End Death By Incarceration exhibition. The Pittsburgh-based organization works to end perpetual punishment and create pathways out of prisons and back into communities through advocacy, support, art, and transformative justice.
Our collection is joined by two local Erie artists, Antonio Howard and Allen Brown. Two recent works of Antonio’s will be on display. Both Antonio and Allen survived being sentence to life without parole as teenagers.
On Friday the 19th join us for Gallery Night and experience over 30 works of art and gallery tours. On Saturday the 19th at 6:00 PM, join collection curator etta cetera and artist Antonio Howard for a conversation exploring the exhibition, the stories behind the work, and the role art can play in expression, connection, and imagining new possibilities.
Come experience the exhibition, hear directly from those connected to the work, and take part in an evening of art, storytelling, and conversation. This is the fourth stop of our Permanent Collection this year. Thanks Erie Arts & Culture for having us!