Prison Pen and Paint: High Walls Will Break Down Barriers at RedLine

High Walls: Artists Navigate Structures of Confinement, opening at RedLine Contemporary Art Center on August 15, is billed as an exploration of "how physical and imagined space shapes the carceral system in Colorado and beyond." But it's so much more.

The High Walls exhibit, which will run for two months, showcases work by artists engaging with or responding to the many aspects of the prison experience. It emerges from a national conversation around mass incarceration and the U.S. criminal-legal system, and highlights the work of artists who are currently or were formerly incarcerated in the Colorado Department of Corrections, including Cedar Annenkovna, Dustin Ware and Sean Marshall, a largely self-taught artist whose sentence was commuted last year.
"Some of the artists are facing life without parole; their art practice is what gives them some hope," says Sarah McKenzie, whose Unchained Voices has been putting on exhibits with incarcerated artists for years. "Some may get out, some may never get out, but they're using their time in this amazing way," she says. Their artwork will be presented alongside and in conversation with projects by notable contemporary artists from outside Colorado, including a five-channel sound and video installation by Maria Gaspar and photography by Sara Bennett.

The exhibit was curated by Katja Rivera, Sarah McKenzie, Geoffrey Shamos and Tya Alisa Anthony and includes a who's who of active participants in the multi-faceted prison arts programs that were originated or inspired by the University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative. The exhibit grew out of a conversation that McKenzie had with Shamos back in 2023, when they determined that they needed a higher-profile exhibition on mass incarceration. "There had been smaller-scale things, but they weren't getting the attention of the dominant art scene," McKenzie recalls.
They met with Louise Martanaro at RedLine, who quickly signed on, and "the whole thing has really just grown in time," McKenzie says. "From the beginning, we didn't want it to be just an art show, but a series of events and programs giving deeper insight into the ring of issues around the space of incarceration."

The result was a major event-within-the-event: the High Walls Summit, which runs August 16-17 at RedLine. It's taking the place of the traditional 48 Hours program that the gallery had hosted every August, and is designed as a "deeper exploration of the themes" in the exhibit, delving into the complexities and "impact of incarceration and our criminal-legal system on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole."

"RedLine is honored to be a collaborator in bringing this critical conversation to the forefront of our community's consciousness: exploring and understanding the impact of incarceration on individuals, families, and society as a whole," says Patricia McCrystal, RedLine marketing & communications manager. "The High Walls exhibition and summit will be an enriching, eye-opening and inspiring forum for participants to listen, learn, share and connect with justice-impacted community members and supporting organizations."

The High Walls exhibit reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 15; the High Walls Summit runs August 16-17 at Redline Contemporary Art, 2350 Arapahoe Street. Learn more on the High Walls Summit website.