Form of Reform Opening
Friday afternoon, from 4 to 7 pm, the Curb Center will host an opening reception for its Spring 2019 art installation, The Form of Reform, which showcases art and writings by individuals incarcerated on death row at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
Oftentimes, in the midst of political and academic discourses about incarceration and the death penalty, it is possible for us—and particularly for those of us whose communities the criminal justice system has not impacted personally—to lose sight of the individual humanity of each incarcerated person, which endures regardless of the wrongs they have been convicted of. The paintings, drawings, sculptures, leather work, jewelry, prose, and poetry in this exhibition shed light on the complex humanity of the artists who created them, and the stories those artists have chosen to share reveal fragments of their lives. In so doing, they may provoke conversations about the moral implications of the death penalty, the ways in which people may change over time, and the possibilities of restorative justice.
I should mention that, for me personally, the exhibition bears some resonance with college writing courses I have taught in prisons in Massachusetts through the Petey Greene Program. In those classes, I read some of the most impassioned and creative essays and short stories I have read in my teaching career, and it was brought home to me that life goes on within prison walls; it remains an evolving experience for every individual. The impulse to create endures, and is perhaps even heightened by the physical and mental constraints of incarceration. The impulse to live—to forge new relationships and learn and, yes, change—goes on and on.
The works on display were loaned to the Curb Center by a number of Nashville organizations and individuals. In an historical moment when our country’s criminal justice system is increasingly in the spotlight, Form of Reform offers one opportunity to consider—or reconsider—our preconceptions and knowledge of that system, and to begin conversations about other more humane possibilities.
Written by John Shakespear
Posted January 17, 2020