On April 3, Salt Lake Community College will open two new exhibitions at the South City Campus that platform voices, tell stories, and foster empathy for individuals experiencing incarceration or homelessness. According to curator James Walton, “these exhibits give our community a glimpse into the lives of people who are consistently overlooked, avoided, and undervalued.”
Freedom of Expression: Artists Incarcerated
The first exhibit is “Freedom of Expression: Artists Incarcerated.” This exhibit features three mural-sized paintings created by young, incarcerated artists in collaboration with local muralists. The paintings were produced in a series of 10 workshops led by local artists, in which youth experiencing incarceration expressed themselves creatively, learned artistic skills, and practiced collaboration to achieve a mutual goal.
The project was organized by Walton and SLCC criminal justice professor Dr. Anthony Nocella. The workshops were led by these local muralists: Walton, Beto Sanchez Conejo, Chuck Landvatter, Matt Monsoon (SLCC Faculty), Brooklyn Ottens (SLCC Student), and Chris Peterson. The Salt Lake Valley Youth Center officials involved were Derek Frye (Director) with Lehai Makoni, Thelma Letuli, and Sione Vailahi (all Unit Managers).
“Being able to make this work with the youth inside was very interesting for me because it is like looking at a mirror,” said Conejo, who is also a member of the SLCC Special Events and Art Gallery team and one of the workshop leaders. “The connections we made due to similar lived experiences was crucial,” he continued, describing a connection based on shared neighborhoods growing up. “I really hope we can find a way to keep connecting and having them realize there are people from the same streets we are from that are looking out for them and are actively trying to change the conditions that put us in limiting and hostile positions.”
Walton added: “It was a real privilege to get to spend time with these young artists. Their generosity of spirit and enthusiasm for the project absolutely blew me away,” added Walton, calling the collaboration a “special kind of alchemy” and saying “these wonderful and totally unique paintings almost operate as time capsules that visually realize the thoughts and feelings of these smart, funny, creative young people.”
Salt Lake Valley Youth Center Director Derek Frye also praised the project. “This art project brings the community and their resources and ideas together with our youth at Salt Lake Valley Youth Center to create something positive. As we all know being a youth is hard and for these youth who are at the time locked up, it gives them hope to be a part of something that can benefit others. This allows these youth a way to give back and to express their feelings and emotions in a positive manner while working with positive adult role models.”
I'm Roofless, NOT Homeless
The second exhibit is “I’m Roofless, NOT Homeless.” This exhibit comprises 22 narrative relief sculptures and eight busts of unhoused individuals created by Suzanne Storer and Louise Solecki Weir to humanize the plight of the unhoused and help viewers understand the diverse paths leading to homelessness.
The sculptures tell the stories of lives struck by illness or disaster, individuals abandoned to the streets at a tender age, and the consequences of poor choices or untreated mental illness – each narrative unfolds in its own way, as unique as the individuals experiencing those circumstances. Presented as art, the subjects become objects for study and reflection, providing a unique opportunity for viewers to explore the diverse paths leading to homelessness.
Storer’s contributions were inspired by her experiences working with residents at her local resource center, where she learned that many of the residents were little different than herself, yet their circumstances were worlds apart. Her 22 tableaus share insights into their subjects’ worlds, connecting the viewers to those worlds with the hope of changing the way we collectively treat the unhoused.
Weir’s eight busts are portraits of individuals suffering from mental illness or brain damage. She uses classical portrait busts to illuminate our contemporary struggle with marginalization, juxtaposing her subjects’ abjectness with the traditional use of portrait sculpture: depicting historically celebrated or heroic figures. Unlike traditional heroic figures, these sculptures represent ordinary people, prompting viewers to contemplate the heroism within the struggles of the often overlooked.
Event Details
“Freedom of Expression” and “I’m Roofless, not Homeless” Opening
When
Thursday, April 3, 2025, 5-7 p.m.
Where
The George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Gallery
Center for Arts & Media, SLCC South City Campus
1575 S State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Parking
Enter the code GALLERY at the yellow kiosk for free parking in the stalls marked with yellow lines.
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