A bedroom furnished with a single jail bed, is waiting to be filled with artwork, love letters, birthday cards, stuffed animals, and crafts — the many different forms of expression and connection that have come from incarcerated people’s experiences.

 

This is part of an interactive installation that explores the intricacies of our prison system. 

 

A jungle gym sits just beside the room, one you might find on a childhood playground. This structure intends to bring the perspective of children back into this conversation of abolition, while simultaneously being emblematic of how interconnected the prison industrial complex is with every system, institution, and issue our country faces. 

 

This is the stage to a performance. This is a ceremony. 

The #jailbeddrop experience is rooted in challenging our inherent notion between “crime” and punishment. The work contextualizes and facilitates a space to explore interpersonal accountability and reflect those values back on our “criminal justice system.”

 

This piece is an extension of Justice LA's  #jailbeddrop series started by Patrisse Cullors and Cecila Sweet-Coll in 2017.

 

Our team created this performance and interactive installation space to hold an open and candid discussion on abolition.