May 27, 2015
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Page 11
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Prisoners Find Peace in Art
Looking at the world from inside and outside custody
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A group of Portland pris-
oners preparing to reintegrate
into the community have been
offered an artistic means of do-
ing so.
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ect that encourages convicts
to look at the world inside
and outside custody, and what
those worlds mean to them, has
led to hundreds of small print-
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the Columbia River Correc-
tional Institution in northeast
Portland.
The prison is aimed at help-
ing men who are within four
years of release from custody,
and has a mixture of re-entry
levels that run from a residen-
tial drug and alcohol treatment
center to an alternative incar-
ceration program.
The art program was
brought to inmates by the
Know Your City organiza-
tion, which brought together
approximately 12 artists who
in turn created 30 unique de-
signs, each approximately sev-
en by nine inches. Hundreds of
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sewn into long strands that can
be hung as a complete set.
Lead artist Emily Squires
and scholar-activist Reiko
Hillyer hosted a dedication cer-
emony for the art that has been
created by inmates on Tuesday
at the institution, located at
9111 N.E. Sunderland Ave.
For more information on this
project or other community art
and social justice programs,
visit KnowYourCity.org.
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