Known as a place where professional artists from across Athens and around the world display their art, the Lyndon House Arts Center now features work from people incarcerated in the Clarke County Jail.
The Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens unveiled a showcase of art created by people incarcerated in the Clarke County Jail on Thursday evening.
The exhibit, called Creative Tracks, showcased multimedia art including paintings, drawings, and dioramas. The art featured vivid colors and depicted life before and during incarceration, as well as the incarcerated artists’ hopes for the future after reentering the community.
Clarke County Sheriff John Q. Williams, who attended the event, says the program is about more than art.
“It teaches people literally art, but also how to tell a story through art. I’m really impressed with the outcome,” he says. “I think it’s inspiring, and that’s what we want to do. We want to give people hope, and this is one way we can do that.”
The art program is a part of the jail’s Reentry Success program, which Sheriff Williams says gives incarcerated people life and job skills they can use when they are released.
Kristen Bach teaches Creative Tracks. She says that while the incarcerated artists were not present at the event, the chance to display their work has been meaningful.
“I know that they are all very proud, and they know that it’s a big deal to have an exhibition at the Lyndon House,” she says. “They’ve been proud of their growth, just as I have been.”
The exhibit will be open to the public until March 21st.
