U-M photo exhibit showcases work of incarcerated artists

The Ann Arbor Art Fair will be the next stop for "Humanize the Numbers,” a touring exhibition organized by the University of Michigan Prison Creative Arts Project, launched at the Detroit Historical Museum earlier this year. The show features 45 photographs created by 36 incarcerated artists in a series of workshops in Michigan facilities. Prisoners were allowed creative freedom not normally permitted in a system where the state strictly regulates their identities and representations. The works will be organized into thematic sections of personal experiences within the system, humanization, community and family impact, means of coping and self-reflection. Pieces will display the unique individuals and highlight the personal stories and the diversity of experience within the system. "This exhibit aims to highlight the personal impacts-and costs-of the prison system, encourage empathy-building with people who are in prison, and inspire future action in support of people who are in prison,” said U-M lecturer Isaac Wingfield, the exhibition conceptualizer. Wingfield teaches Humanize the Numbers, a community-engaged course in the PCAP curriculum, and recently won the 2023 Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize for his work developing the course.