On March 12 St. Francis College welcomed, currently (via phone) and formerly incarcerated prisoners for The Confined Arts: Solitary Confinement Edition, a showcase on how art and poetry can transcend prison walls while drawing the inhumanity of solitary confinement into sharp focus.

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Artwork inspired by solitary confinement was on display while survivors offered spoken word performances and poetry about their time. One performer was Spoon Jackson who spoke from a California correctional facility where he is serving a life sentence.

Representatives from Opportunities and Change and the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement also spoke.

(Watch the Confined Arts)

A panel discussion on solitary confinement, focusing on conditions in solitary confinement in New York State featured::
• Ricky James, host of "Unlocked" on 90.3 FM;
• Leigh-Anne Francis, professor of African/African-American/women and gender studies (College of New Jersey);
• Nate Williams, spoken word artist and musician;
• and Jennifer J. Parish, Director of Criminal Justice Advocacy, Mental Health Project Urban Justice Center

This event was co-organized by St. Francis College student Johnny Perez '17 of the Urban Justice Center and a student in the program, Hudson Link Post-Prison College @ St. Francis College, and Issac Scott, of the Center for Justice at Columbia University and the Program Director of Confined Arts, Opportunities and Change.

The Confined Arts: Solitary Confinement Edition is co-sponsored by the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement, Center for Crime and Popular Culture at St. Francis, Hudson Link Post-Prison College @ St. Francis College, New York University Prisoners' Rights and Education Project, and the Women's Poetry Initiative at St. Francis.