The Lyndon House Arts Center will team up with the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office to display the artwork of incarcerated people.
The Creative Tracks program at the Clarke County Jail started about a year ago and has educated three groups of incarcerated individuals. Kristen Bach is a local business owner and educator who instructs the course. She says she wants her students to view art as something they can incorporate in their everyday lives.
“A lot of my students don’t consider themselves as active artists. So, I really try to break down the boundaries of what art making can be,” she says.
On Thursday, January 22nd, their artwork will be on display at the Lyndon House Art Center in Athens starting at 5:30 pm. Bach hopes that the exhibit will encourage community members to be more welcoming to incarcerated individuals when they are released.
“We really wanted to inform our community that a lot of these incarcerated individuals, this might be the first time they are seen and heard,” she says. “We want our community to know that they’re doing a ton of hard work to try to better their lives and make a new chapter moving forward.”
Participants in Creative Tracks are also a part of the Reentry Success Program, which allows incarcerated individuals to take classes with multiple community partners.
More information about the exhibit can be found at accgov.com.
