Art and Culture
At museum, current and ex inmates create art and futures
The new Barnes Foundation Museum on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. (Photo By Smallbones – Own work, CC0)
PHILADELPHIA — The Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia are collaborating on a program where current and former prison inmates will work on public art projects.
They will create panels for a future mural, as well as a body of work that will be exhibited at the museum.
The “Restorative Justice” program is seen as a way to unite those affected by crime through shared creative expression, like street murals.
The Barnes has transformed its former ticketing office into a studio space for workers in a Mural Arts’ program called “The Guild.
” It’s a paid apprenticeship for formerly incarcerated men and women.
The Barnes is also teaching art history classes to inmates at the state prison in Graterford.
