Free Our Mamas! Sisters! Queens!
Organized by The People’s Paper Co-Op with the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund
A Special Mother’s Day 2020 Virtual Vox Exhibition
EXTENDED FOR SUMMER – Support The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund!
PURCHASE ART
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION + CAMPAIGN
Amidst our current public health crisis, a powerful group of formerly incarcerated women in Philadelphia are collaborating with artists from across the United States to use art to raise money to bail out black mothers and caregivers for mother’s day! The collaboration has resulted in the creation of digitally printed posters, t-shirts, and limited-edition silkscreen prints on handmade paper made from shredded criminal records.
In 2019, The People’s Paper Co-op (PPC) collaborated for the second time with the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund on their Mama’s Day Bail Out campaign. The PPC organized exhibitions, parades, press conferences, and events to raise awareness and funds for their campaign while sharing the stories, dreams, and demands of formerly incarcerated women with thousands of Philadelphians. In just two weeks, the PPC raised over $23,000 and helped the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund raise over $135,000 to free black mothers and caregivers for mothers day.
Originally slated to be exhibited by Vox Populi’s Community Engagement Committee in our Front Space as part of the May/June 2020 exhibition cycle, we are proud to share this work online for the month of May as part of Virtual Vox and encourage you to support this important effort!
GALLERY
PURCHASE ART
*Digital-print poster sets and special editions on shredded criminal record paper can be purchased via Philly Bail Out.
*Individual digital-prints can be purchased via Justseeds as part of their national campaign.
*100% of all poster sales go to help free black mothers and caregivers for Mothers Day!
2020 PORTFOLIO & PROCESS
The limited edition 2020 Free Our Mama’s Poster Portfolio features all 11 designs printed on handmade paper made by formerly incarcerated women in the People’s Paper Co-op Art and Advocacy Fellowship . Criminal records from legal clinics and public workshops were torn, pulped, and transformed into new sheets of handmade paper that act as blank slates for this collective vision for transformative justice. The portfolio is encased in an envelope constructed and printed by Paper Machine print shop (New Orleans, LA) and features artwork by Shoshana Gordon on the cover. More info.
ARTIST LIST
Women in the People’s Paper Co-op Art and Advocacy Fellowship helped print certain poster designs on handmade paper as part of workshops led by The Soapbox: Community Print Shop & Zine Library in Philadelphia.
PPC Fellows: Faith Bartley, Aesha Barnett, Latyra Blake, Kerri DeLeo, Jamila Harris, Kitty Marrero, Lisa Shorter, Veronica Rex.
Collaborating Artists: Melanie Cervantes, Pippin Frisbie Calder, Katie Kaplan, Malachi Lily, Ashley Lukashevsky, Nicole Marroquin, Shani Peters, Swoon, Aryanna Tischler, Sharita Towne, Mary Tremonte, Kah Yangni
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
The People’s Paper Co-op is a women led, women focused, women powered art and advocacy project at the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia. The PPC looks to women in reentry as the leading criminal justice experts our society needs to hear from and uses art to amplify their stories, dreams, and visions for a more just and free world. More Info.
The mission of the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund is to end cash bail in Philadelphia. Until that day comes, we post bail for residents of Philadelphia who cannot afford to pay for their freedom. We work to bring to light the inequities of the use of cash bail in Philadelphia and advocate for the abolition of bail and pretrial detention in our city. More Info.
FORM & REFORM from WREN RENE on Vimeo.