McConnell Arts Center to host artist talk for ‘Home Free: Ohio Artists Envision Prison Abolition’ and ‘Life is Precious’ companion exhibits Wednesday

Ethan Pangrac
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 04:36:55 +0000
Arts & Life, Fine Arts, Instagram Page, News, abolitionist art, columbus art, Columbus gallery art, fine art, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, gallery art, Home Free, Kirsta Niemie Benedetti, Life is Precious, McConnell Arts Center, prison, Prison abolition, protest art, Returning Artists Guild

The Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center — located at 777 Evening St. — is hosting two exhibits highlighting the voices of those affected by the criminal legal system. Credit: Ethan Pangrac | Lantern Reporter

Located at 777 Evening St. in Worthington, Ohio, the Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center is currently hosting two exhibits that highlight those with lived experience in the criminal legal system.?

The first, “Home Free: Ohio Artists Envision Prison Abolition,” will be on display until March 20. According to the center’s website, the exhibition showcases work by members of The Returning Artists Guild, an abolitionist collective of artists directly impacted by the criminal legal system.?

In addition, fine artist Kirsta Niemie Benedetti said the center will present a companion exhibition titled “Life is Precious,” which she created to explore the U.S. prison system. She said the exhibit, also on view until March 20, uses interactive portraits to give audiences a personal look into the lives of incarcerated women.

Aimee Wissman, a founding member of RAG, said an artist talk pertaining to both exhibits is scheduled for 7-8 p.m. Friday at the center. The talk will feature a guided tour of the exhibit, led by Wissman and fellow RAG founding member Kamisha Thomas, with contributions from Niemie Benedetti and other featured artists.?

Having worked on “Life is Precious” for about five years, Niemie Benedetti said she quickly recognized the importance of incorporating an interactive element that would make viewers feel more connected to the women represented in the exhibit.?

“It’s a text-based, interactive installation,” Niemie Benedetti said. “I have come up with a list of questions that solicit aspects of their story that are humanizing.”?

Niemie Benedetti said such questions include, “What makes you feel beautiful?” and “What makes you feel loved?” She said answers from incarcerated women who participated in the exhibit’s creation are displayed on notecards beneath their portraits, allowing visitors to engage with their responses on an intimate level.?

Niemie Benedetti said she also asked each woman what she misses most about life before incarceration, displaying the responses alongside their respective names on interactive cards. She said each card suggests an action guests can take to honor the individual; furthermore, these cards include a QR code that links to a Google form visitors can use to discuss their thoughts on the exhibit, with responses being relayed to the women in prison.?

“When people interact with this text base, they become very emotional,” Niemie Benedetti said. “It’s the piece where people come back to me and say, ‘I can’t stop thinking of Jessica.’ That’s been very impactful on the viewers. Whenever even one person in the group gets someone’s response, the whole group feels seen, cared for, honored and loved.”

Niemie Benedetti said her ultimate goal in creating “Life is Precious” was to allow viewers to foster personal connections with the women she painted, all while challenging the stigma associated with incarceration.?

“My goal is to use art to make connections between the inside and the outside and to highlight that these women are people; they are contributors to our communities and our societies, and they’re just as valuable as someone who’s outside,” Niemie Benedetti said.?

Wissman said RAG’s “Home Free” exhibit aims to spread a similar awareness about those directly impacted by incarceration.

“We’re intersectional in every way that you can imagine,” Wissman said. “Incarceration impacts all communities, populations and people of all kinds. The more intersections you have as a person, then the more likely you are to end up in a system of incarceration.”?

Wissman said though RAG has previously hosted shows across Ohio, “Home Free” is its first traveling exhibition — an effort aimed at expanding the collective’s overall accessibility.?

“It started at the Fitton Center in Hamilton, Ohio,” Wissman said. “After it’s at the McConnell [Arts Center], it’s going to go to the University of Akron. For us, this is a way of keeping the show consistent so that we can think more about programming and get as many people as possible to have access to it.”?

For more information about both exhibitions and Wednesday’s artist talk, visit the McConnell Arts Center’s website.