April 13 - 28, 2018

A Project with Prison Renaissance and Sebastian Alvarez, George "Mesro" Coles, Emile DeWeaver, Philippe “Kels” Kelly, James King, Joseph Krauter, Michael Mackey, Christopher Marshall, Juan Carlos Meza, Bryan “Ozair” Richie, Orlando Smith, and Rahsaan Thomas

Metropolis presents the work of Bay Area artists, writers, and creative leaders who live in a metropolis both physically near and consciously distant: prison. There are 2.3 million incarcerated people in the United States -- collectively the 4th largest city in the country, slightly larger than Houston. Literal and metaphorical barriers prevent the flow of communication, limiting access to the insight and leadership of the incarcerated and obscuring the shared experience of human beings in community. In collaboration with Prison Renaissance and incarcerated artists, activists, and creative thinkers, Southern Exposure and East Side Arts Alliance present an installation of curated audio pieces – from conversations to rap, anecdotes to poetry -- centering the voices of those incarcerated in the Bay Area, and revealing the commonalities between the metropolis inside and the metropolis outside. Three live events will include conversations between incarcerated people and audience members.

This event is part one of an ongoing project. Metropolis Part 2 will be presented at the East Side Arts Alliance on July 20-21, 2018.

Photos courtesy of Sebastian Alvarez and Peter Merts Photography