The Art of Compassion

Erika Blanco, Steven Burton, Donato Di Camilo, Karli Evans, CW Griffin, Ekaterina Juskowski, Mary Beth Koeth, Allison Langer, Irina Lawton, Ashlyn Mckibben, Adrian Mesa, Milcho, Michelle Polissaint, Johanne Rahaman, Leesa Richardson, Starr Sariego, Mateo Serna, Sharon Socol,  Maggie Steber, and Alexandra Vivas

This exhibition compiles the work of twenty local and nationally renowned photographers who have been paired with formerly incarcerated women, and asked to make a portrait of them while they are in the process of re-integration to society.  Artists delve on these women’s sense of belonging and on their concept of home. Their powerful photographs reveal the real women – mothers, daughters, and wives, who ended up behind bars. Photographs are complemented by the subjects’ powerful testimonies.

The Art of Compassion is curated by photographer and producer Starr Sariego and it is part of “The Compassion Project”. This initiative aims to redefine the preconceptions about formerly incarcerated women through photography, film, an interactive app, and a rich educational curricula, and works in collaboration with LEAP, an organization that empowers women to put prison in the past.