state:
New York
Local history:
Rikers Island, NY 11370: In Plain Sight
How do you see Rikers Island?
The New School | The Fortune Society
Exhibiting Partner:
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
66 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011-8802
April 3, 2016April 24, 2016

States of Incarceration is now at the Levine Museum in Charlotte, NC

States of Incarceration is extended in NC! September 23, 2023 - January 31, 2023 at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, NC!

401 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

go to www.museumofthenewsouth.org for more information.

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New York: Rikers Island, NY 11370: In Plain Sight
How do you see Rikers Island?
The New School | The Fortune Society

Among the islands that make up New York City is Rikers Island, the city’s jail complex. Between boroughs in the East River, off a runway of LaGuardia Airport, on the Q100 bus route, connected by a sole bridge, Rikers demonstrates the contradictions of visibility and invisibility that define mass incarceration. For many New Yorkers, Rikers is routine; it’s where they await sentencing, often for months; it’s where they visit people; it’s where they feel they may one day find themselves. For others the island exists out of sight, even though it influences the culture, infrastructure, and daily life of the city. On and off maps, Rikers appears in urban oral histories, notably hip-hop and rap, as well as dress and slang. But how New Yorkers see Rikers is colored by where they live, their race, their health, their wealth or poverty.

Our Point of View

If Rikers began as an abstraction, it did not remain so because of our conversations with men from The Fortune Society, an organization devoted to helping people reenter society from prison. These men taught us to recognize the ongoing memories, objects, music, and thoughts that continually move beyond the walls of Rikers to permeate the entire city. This exhibit is a collaboration between students of The New School and members of The Fortune Society.

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New York: Rikers Island, NY 11370: In Plain Sight    The New School
How do you see Rikers Island?
New York: Rikers Island, NY 11370: In Plain Sight
How do you see Rikers Island?
  The New School

National Exhibition Venue    Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center

Public Dialogues and Events
| April 3 – April 24, 2016

See Full Exhibition & Events Schedule
“During my stay, 11 months 4 days, I discovered how easily the system corrupts people and at the end mental health is at an all time high. What to tell civilians working on Rikers that remain quiet?”  — William E.
“I am a social worker who works to advocate for incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and people returning to the community. It is a privilege to work with people who inspire me. I constantly fear that I represent and contribute to the systems of oppression.”  — Participant at Mass Story Lab: Rikers

Local Issue Partner:

The Fortune Society

Events:

Date: 
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Date: 
Wednesday, June 29, 2016

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