The Violence of Incarceration: Using Art to Document and Share Women’s Experiences

• In Event: Gender and Incarceration Experiences: Social Constructions and in Their Own Words

Abstract

Feminist scholarship on state violence examines how women’s experiences while incarcerated often extend the individual and community level violence they encountered prior to incarceration (Richie 1996, 2012; Schlesinger and Lawston 2011). In this paper, we explain a collaborative multi-media project we developed to document the “continuum of violence” (Davis and Shaylor 2001:7) women experience before, during, and after incarceration. The project draws on qualitative research with 36 formerly incarcerated women in Chicago and uses various media, such as photography, audio recordings, and performance art, to share the women’s stories. The project highlights the gendered violence marginalized women face inside and outside of prison, as well as the failure of the state to protect and support women who are living at the intersection of race-, gender- and class-based oppressions. In particular, the project draws attention to the routine violence of incarceration, including physical assaults by correctional officers, inadequate healthcare, and shackling during childbirth. In this paper, we reflect on the process of transforming an academic research project into a public exhibit. We assess the benefits and challenges of using artistic expressions to share issues of gender and justice with a wide audience.

Authors

• Cesraea Rumpf, Benedictine University

• Brandi Berry, Fayetteville State University