Let’s Get Free’s travel collection is on view for the third time this year in it’s hometown of Pittsburgh. In collaboration with Assemble: A Community Space for Art + Technology, we are excited to share the following selections from our permanent collection.
The Long Term
1. The Long Term by Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project
Selection from Series of 15 Risograph Prints
11 x 17. 2018
Sarah 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.
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.
(The book is great and easy to find at used online book shops & new at Haymarket Books)
A —Artist: Ivan Arenas
Article: Time after Time: For Transgender Women, Trauma and Confinement Persist after Sentences End by Toshio Meronek
Page: 46
B— Artist: Elizabeth Brent
Article: Strugglin’, Strivin’, and Survivin’: An Interview with Damien, Carlthel, and Elizabeth Brent by Sarah Ross
Page: 301
C— Artist: William Estrada
Article: Long-Term Separation, by Efrain Alcaraz
Page: 42
D— Artist: Eric Garcia
Article: “Be a Panther When You Get to Angola”: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox
Page: 59
E— Artist: Maria Gaspar
Article: Prison Is Not Just a Place, by Raul Dorado
Page: 21
F— Artist: Ryan Griffis
Article: On Being Human, by Kathy Boudin
Page: 154
G— Artist: Aaron Hughes
Article: The Lil Paralegal Who Could and the Birth of a New Law by Patrick Pursley
Page: 276
H— Artist: Sam Kirk
Article: On Leaving Prison: A Reflection on Entering and Exiting Communities by Monica Cosby
Page: 34
I— Artist: Damon Locks
Article: Larger Than Life: Building a Movement across Prison Walls to Abolish Death by Incarceration,
by Felix Rosado, David Lee, and Layne Mullett
Page:25
J— Artist: Nicole Marroquin
Article: “Do We Want Justice, or Do We Want Punishment?”: A Conversation between Rachel Caidor, Shira Hassan, Deana Lewis, and Beth Richie
Page:163
L— Artist: Claire Pentecost
Article: Football Numbers, by Phil Hartsfield
Page:112
N— Artist: Fred Sasaki
A Mother Confronts Chicago Police Torture, by Mary L. Johnson
Page: 262
O— Artist: Monica Trinidad
Article A Living Chance: Interviews with Adrienne Skye Roberts, Ellen Richardson, Kelly Savage, Amber Bray, Rae Harris, Barbara Chavez, Judith Barnett, Mary Elizabeth Stroder, Stacey Dyer, Natalie DeMola, Laverne DeJohnette
Page: 53
21. Animation by Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project:
The Long Term, a hand-drawn, animated film developed by artists serving long-term sentences. The video uses personal narrative and research to describe the scale and impact of these sentencing policies including stories about the fear of dying inside, the feeling of being programmed by prison, and the impact on family life; from the perspective of 11 artists serving life or long-term sentences.
Created by artists from Stateville Prison and artists-in-residence from the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project : Chester Brost, Devon Daniels, Joseph Dole, Francisco “Paco” Estrada, Darrell W. Fair, R Dot Nandez, Damon Locks, C. McLaurin, Flynard “Fly 1” Miller, Andrés Reyes, Sarah Ross., B. R. Shaw, Bring and Johnny Taylor.
Art Directors: Damon Locks + Sarah Ross Animator Director: Rob Shaw
Editors: Rob Shaw + Sarah Ross Sound: Damon Locks + Nick Mazzeralla
Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra
The Colorful Back Wall
2. 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. These are Jess’s prison clothes.
3. 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.
4. Diasporic Afrikan by Ajamu Olushegun Iyapo, Medium: Acrylic and colored pencil on cloth 8.5 x 11.75 2024
“Afrikan Diasporic Glyph”, is a Diasporic Afrikan writing-style. You can see an overview this alphabet in the sweet letters binder or by following the link.
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.”
5. Solitary by Todd Hyung Rae Tarselli, instant coffee on a paper bag,
15″ x 11″, 2020
Solitary 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”.
Hyung-Rae also known as TR is famous for his incredible paintings on leaves that fly across the fences into his reach. He calls them his contraband series. Todd “Hyung Rae” Tarselli has been in prison for over 27 years. He was sentenced to life without possibility of parole for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old. Born in South Korea, Hyung Rae’s parents died when he was just a child. At the age of 5, he entered an orphanage, where his birthdate was inaccurately recorded as 6-years old, due to a mistake in interpreting cultural age counting. Korean culture considers a child 1-year old on the day of birth while the U.S. does not. This cultural difference in counting age was not properly accounted for during his adoption. Hyung Rae was adopted by an American family in 1980 and struggled to adjust to the new culture, family, environment, and community. In 1992, he pled guilty to a robbery and murder. Because of the age counting error, Hyung Rae was listed as 18 years old and charged as an adult, which impacted his life sentence in Pennsylvania.
etta met TR in 2000 through the books to prisoner program. He was in solitary then and spent about 10 years there. He is currently there again until the end of April so, please write in a letter
6. Lady in the Shadows by Kamdyn Alexis Love and Steven Musser, 12 x 18 inches, 2024
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,
Kamdyn and Steven are cellies. This piece was made for the “This is me” art show. Steven was the main physical creator. When asked what the figure was at the bottom of the drawing Alexis replied, “That’s the old me.”
7. Harriet Tubman by Dominic Newsome, Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 11 x 11.5, 2024
Artist Statement: I’ve been locked away since Jan 1st 1990 in the state of Maryland, and transferred to PA in Nov 2000 due to a riot in the MD DOC that I started in 1997. And the PA DOC held me in “the hole” or RHU from Nov 2000 til 2018. So I never had REAL art supplies to work with, only a jail issued pencil and ink pen, so I learned how to use basic tools and combine the pencil and pen as one, and you’ll see the results. I do not have financial support because I’ve outlived just about everyone. If I win anything, it’ll go toward buying real art supplies. Enclosed is Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Sitting Bull, and Black Panther. I chose these “freedom fighters” because they are symbols for the belief of justice and freedom for all oppressed peoples. January 1990 was when my freedom was lost and I chose to become one of the most violent prisoners in the history of the state of Maryland. So due to a prison riot and convictions of trying to murder a couple of prison guards, I was sent to the PA DOC from the MD Supermax on November 2000, and only got released from the RHU from general pop around July 2019. So I control my violent urges with my artwork, the amount of detail I use in my art forces me to remain calm and complete the task at hand. I’ve lost time working on my art skills through practice, because I was so caught up trying to destroy anyone and everyone in my path. Never again.
8. 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. (1 hour from Pittsburgh) We purchased 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.
9. Night Owl by Todd Hyung Rae Tarselli, acrylic on leaf, 9.2 X 8, 2024 TR is famous for his precious paintings on leaves that fly across the concertina wire and land within reach. Leaves are technically contraband because they are not on the “approved items” list. See #5 Solitary for a bio.
10. Who learns from this? By James Marschner, pen and pencil, 11″ x 8.5 2020
This simple pen drawing speaks volumes to the realities of aging and healthcare in prison.
11. Let’s Get Free by People’s Paper Co-op by 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.
You can see photos of the billboard on the front table.
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
That’s a photo Melanie and her spouse on their wedding day in 2025.
14. 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
15. Daughters #18 Cover:Toxic Masculinity by Kal El, 2026, 9 x 12, 2026
“We are made of all of those who have built and broken us.” -Atticus
Artist Statement: My name is Kal-El Carey. I am an African American transmale who is currently incarcerated in a Pennsylvania women’s state prison. I am also a new artist in search of community, guidance, and representation. I am a self-taught fine arts artist and I specialize in a style that I call, “Urban Abstract Surrealism”. I have trademarked my own brand and artistic style called, “Z-coded “. Z-coded, is a medical and/or mental health prison code that describes a person which the state deems too dangerous or mentally unstable to be housed with any other state prisoner for their, or another’s safety. Basically, 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.Instagram: @__kalelcarey_26 Website: z-coded.org
16. 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.”
Yaya & Omid
17. Invisible Life Series by 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.
The watercolor of the prison is a portrait of Graterford prison which is now closed.
18. 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. The Islamic state is represented by the golden shards of shredded bullet shells while the people are pulling out their insides.
Chontelle’s Puzzle
19. Alexithymia by Chontelle Shirk, Pencil and ink drawings on cardboard, shaped into 30 pieces to form a larger image, 3 ft by 3 ft (ish), 2024
A human being is a verb, not a noun. We are meant to move. We are destined to change and transform, to learn as we grow, so that we can transcend the “who” that we were years, days, and minutes before. The “who” that I am today is made up of the many pieces that I was in the past. There are no “good” or “bad” pieces, just different experiences and people that have assisted in molding me into the woman I am today. Today I honor my inner self.
When I first sat down to think about what I wanted to draw for this year I had a difficult time. I was thinking inside a very small box by attempting to produce a single illustration that united all that I am. I could not do it. I had to crawl out of that box and look into the world around me. What I came up with is Alexithymia.
All parts of me have been symbolized on the single pieces of the puzzle. As a disclaimer, I must inform you that on pieces seven and nine are drawings of my son and mother. However, to protect their identity and privacy, I’ve altered their image. I’ve also done this with the portrait of me. Aside from some identity being changed all the images are a true representation of me in my life.
I will not go into detail about what every piece means to me, I was going to, but because I found that it really does not matter. Alexithymia has showed me to distinguish and appreciate the shades of Gray.
I’ve learned from people who have put this puzzle together before that does not matter because it is not my story that makes the puzzle art. It is how others relate to the puzzle that is important.Every person that sees it, pick out one or two pieces that resonates the most with them. Not just in a way that they like the image on the piece, but in a way that the image pulls feelings from them. The first time I saw this happened I was in the common room working on fitting the pieces together better and the lady came up to the table. This lady spent a minute or so, so looking at each piece. When her eyes fell on peace number 28 she took a deep breath, placed her hand on her chest, and water filled her eyes. A couple of tears rolled down her face. I asked her what was wrong. With a Spanish accent, she said, “no… No, they are tears of joy.” She provided me with the explanation. This lady told me that her daughter who is autistic would always be dancing around the house with her music in her ears. She told me that the symbol for autism is a puzzle piece. She smiled as she told me that the peace number 28 was her daughter.
After that, every time I was in the common room working on the puzzle, another woman came to me, picked out her piece, and told me how it made her feel or think about. I was able to connect with others, and the puzzle not only meant so much to me, but to others as well.
I did have some problems along the way because of the limits of the safety scissors I had to use. I told my self many times through this process that I would give my left leg for a normal pair of scissors. You will see that not all the pieces fit together perfect, this is because not long after starting to use the safety sitters, they will not cut, they shred paper. I had to hack at the pieces, then use an emery board to file the side, smooth.
I did not want to distort my portrait so I had to let it as it is. There is more to Alexithymia than being perfect.
The process of the puzzle
Here are the steps I took to make a puzzle that the individual pieces come together to form a portrait of me.
1. I did three drawings of myself using a “Funhouse” mirror from commissary to decide to pose I wanted to use for the portrait of myself.
2. Made a list of past events that helped mold me into who I am today.
3. Made a list of personality traits I wanted to represent.
4. Made a list of parts of myself. I do not like.
5. I had decided on a shape and size to make the puzzle. I wanted it to be large so I could fit as many things from the list I made as possible. I picked one of the tables in the common area on my housing unit.
6. I taped paper together to be the size and shape of the table to use as a template.
7. I drew the outline of my portrait on a smaller map of the puzzle.
8. I drew the lines of my face on the template.
9. I drew out the puzzle pieces.
10. I made a small map of the large template. I needed a small image to help me put together the single pictures and the placement of the images I was forming in my mind.
11. I went over the lines of my portrait on the large template with an ink, pen, then cut up the template into the puzzle pieces.
12. I trace the pieces onto white paper, cut them out, and put them back together. I had to make sure I was able to form the original size in shape. It worked!
13. I trace the template pieces again, adding the face lines from the original drawing, then set them to the side
14. I drew a tone portrait on another small map of the puzzle.
15. I took the pieces I had traced and filled in the dark and use as a reference when developing the drawings for the individual pieces.
16. I traced another set of all 30 pieces, then set them to the side.
17. I used a blank small map and the list I made and came up with an image for each piece.
18. I got the last set of the pieces I traced out and sketch the images for each piece, keeping in mind the areas that need to be dark and light. That need to be dark and light.
19. I collected 30 cardboard back, trace the pieces and cut them out.
20. Traced another set of pieces using the sketches started drawing the images.
The first row I drew were 6 to 10.
21. Once I had the first five pieces done I did pieces one to five
22. Next I did pieces 11 to 15.
23. When the first 15 pieces were drawn, I take them to the file folder and cut them out.
24. Then I tape the drawn and cut pieces to the cardboard I prepared before then covered them with strips of scotch tape.
25. I added another layer of file folders.
26. When I started drawing the bottom half of the puzzle, I chose to work on pieces 26 to 30 and work my way up to the finished pieces.
27. I repeated the process and did for the first 15 pieces.
28. When all the pieces were done I added the blanket paper to the back of each piece.
29. I numbered and named each image.
30. I put everything together and now I wait to see what will happen.
Let’s Get Free’s Permanent Collection
Let’s Get Free permanent art collection features art made by people in prison as well as artists in solidarity from outside of prison. It chronicles the current moment of abolitionists through drawings, paintings, prints, cross-stitch, banners, and poetry. The artworks explore personal stories that express political yearnings and aspirations for the future.
Let’s Get Free (LGF) is a Pittsburgh-based organization working to end perpetual punishment and build a pathway out of prisons and back into our communities. Let’s Get Free accomplishes its goals through commutation reform, supporting successful possibilities for people formerly and currently incarcerated, and shifting to a culture of transformative justice. Over 73,000 people in Pennsylvania are currently incarcerated with 5,040 people sentenced to Death by Incarceration (also known as Life Without Parole). LGF’s many activities, including its annual art show, is centered on the liberation of people behind bars.
Let’s Get Free’s permanent collection is an organizing tool bringing people together to reflect upon the conditions of prisons and their function in PA. The collection is meant to be borrowed and to travel, lifting the voice of people in prison and creating dialogue with audiences everywhere it goes. The collection has been gathered through annual art shows and over ten years collaborating with artists in prison. The biggest bulk of the work came from 2020 End Death By Incarceration themed exhibition. We continue to add pieces to the collection.
Curator: etta cetera
Install Team: Eveyln Adair, Zim Said & etta cetera
Host: Assemble (tons of heart emojis)
Contact: etta@letsgetfree.info Org Website: letsgetfree.info Films, Magazine, Art: creative-resistance.org
Some PA groups part of the resistance to end mass incarceration are:
Let’s Get Free, Solidarity Not Solitary, Free Our People and the
Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration. Join the Movement!