Return to Sender: Prison as Censorship
Curated by Mariame Kaba
Co-organized by PEN America
Partner Organizations
Rikers Public Memory Project
The Free Black Women’s Library
Empowerment Avenue
Participants
Ariel Aberg-Riger
Corey Devon Arthur
Danbee Kim
Pablo Mendoza
Hector (Bori) Rodriguez
Kruttika Susarla
Empowerment Avenue Artists: Mark A. Cádiz, Lamavis Comundoiwilla, Jeffrey Allen Isom, Elizabeth Lozano, Sarah Montoya, Mark Stanley-Bey (Stan-Bey)
PEN America Artists: Moira Marquis, Araya Ratanaphruks
PEN America Authors: Kwaneta Harris, Elizabeth Hawes, Zhi Kai, Arthur Longworth, Daniel Pirkel, Derek Trumbo
Rikers Public Memory Project Participants: Medar de la Cruz (Artist), Helen “Skip” Skipper & Edwin Santana (Speakers)
Directed and Organized by Naomi Lev, EFA Project Space
September 14 - October 28, 2023
Press:
The New York Times, “To the Editor: Censorship in Prisons,” Moira Marquis, Sept. 8 2023
Hyperallergic, “Incarcerated Artists and Authors Shed Light on Prison Censorship,” Sept. 20 2023
All Arts, “What Censorship in Prisons Can Teach Us About Book Banning,” Taylor Michael, Oct. 5 2023
Prism, “Prison as censorship: Exhibition curated by Mariame Kaba serves as an abolitionist call to action,” Jess Zhang, Oct. 24 2023
In These Times, “‘Prison Itself Is Censorship”: Mariame Kaba on the Freedom to Read,” Jack McCordick, Oct. 25 2023
TThe prison is the frontline war in a society that seeks to censor and control people and ideas. The current wave of censorship in schools and public libraries is an extension of the more highly advanced structures of control that have and are being developed in prisons and jails. The prison has always been a testing ground for perfecting surveillance and creating unfreedom.
Return to Sender is an exhibition that maintains that the prison itself is censorship, which is multifaceted and complex. Therefore, the only way to end prison censorship is to end prisons. This is a call for prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition.
When I conceived this exhibition, I decided to invite other voices to join in its creation. I reached out to several people who generously agreed to contribute and when you visit the exhibition, you will encounter some of their ideas and visions. Those ideas and visions however are in the service of a broader abolitionist politic that is my own. As the curator of Return to Sender, I wanted to tell a specific story based on my experiences and understanding of prisons and jails over the past couple of decades. Informing my analysis is the cultural and intellectual production of currently and formerly incarcerated/criminalized people who have contributed their visual art, writing and guidance. Not every person or organization that worked on Return to Sender and shared their ideas are prison industrial complex (PIC) abolitionists. For example, PEN America has co-organized this exhibit to showcase prison censorship and does not support abolition.
The exhibition features writing and art by incarcerated creators that examine how prisons enact censorship and limit free expression for incarcerated authors, readers and artists.
Welcome to Return to Sender, we look forward to your visit.
Public Programs:
Opening Reception
Thursday, September 14, 6-9 PM
Join partners and artists for the opening of Return to Sender.
ASL Interpretation Available
RE: Return to Sender: Collaborative Zine Workshop
Saturday, September 23, 1-5 PM
In conjunction with Return to Sender (the exhibit) and Return to Sender (the zine), Return to Sender (the project team) and EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop are proud to host RE: Return to Sender: the workshop.
In this workshop, participants will respond to the concept and reality of prison censorship, using the work on display in the exhibit as well as the work contained in the zine to create a collaborative zine to share.
Virtual Event: Prison Journalism and Censorship
Wednesday, September 27, 4 PM EST
Prison Journalism and Censorship is a conversation between Empowerment Avenue incarcerated writers Christopher Blackwell, Kwanetta Harris, Sara Kielly, and Emily Nonko. Formerly incarcerated abolitionist Jessica Phoenix Sylvia moderates this virtual event.
Online Event
Take Action Day at People’s Forum
Saturday, October 7, 12-6:30 PM
Banned Book Week Event
Join us on October 7 as part of Banned Books Week (October 1-7) to discuss prison censorship and to take actions against it.
PEN America Report Release
A part of Prison Banned Books Week
Thursday, October 26, 6-9 PM
This report release will feature Die Jim Crow artists who are currently incarcerated including Spoon Jackson, The Masses, Territorial and B Alexis. Producers from Die Jim Crow will discuss the censorship these artists face and Moira Marquis, co-author of the report, will discuss the significant findings.
Curator-led Tours
Friday, October 27, 1-6 PM
Return to Sender curator Mariame Kaba will provide 45-minute tours every hour on the hour throughout the day on Friday, October 27.
Closing Reception
Saturday, October 28, 4-6 PM
Join partners and artists to mark the end of the exhibition.
Abolitionist Joy Hours, 4-6 PM
September 16, 2023
Collage, Tea & Chocolate
September 30, 2023
Button Making and Hot Chocolate
October 14, 2023
Herbalism and High Tea
Docents were available every Saturday 12-6 PM for guiding and touring individuals and groups through the exhibition.
Installation Photos by Nina Poon
Event Photography by Human Flower Productions & EFA Project Space
All photos courtesy of EFA Project Space