Tonight we had a great turn out for the”Wisconsin Books To Prisoners Art Show”. Below are a few pictures and a blurb about the show.
“Wisconsin Books to Prisoners (WBTP) is a nonprofit cooperative sponsored by Rainbow Book Cooperative (www.rainbowbookstore.org). Their goals and mission are described at the Books to Prisoners link at Rainbow Book Coop site. They send donated books to prisoners in Wisconsin and other states, in response to prisoner’s letters – knowing that prison libraries are very poorly funded, and that even prisoner’s access to the libraries is restricted. WBTP attempts to get books to the prisoners that they can keep in their cells, pass on to others, or donate when they’re finished. Interestingly, the most requested book is a dictionary, and requests range from popular fiction and urban fiction to history to instruction manuals to art books, and many others.
WBTP often receives art work from the prisoners in thanks for the books. They have saved these works, and this exhibition is the result. In addition there will be a set of 20 silk-screen prints with prison themes created by different artists under the sponsorship of Justseeds Visual Resistance Artists Cooperative for the tenth anniversary of Critical Resistance, a prison abolitionists movement. Other local artists will also be displaying works in support of WBTP.” The show is open 1am – 5pm, M-F, until Feb. 5th.
