On Sept. 13, “Beauty Behind Bars: The Transformative Power of Art in Confinement,” hosted at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, spotlighted visual art and poetry created by current and formerly incarcerated individuals. The exhibit was a part of the Tenleytown location of DC Art All Night, a citywide arts celebration which showcases more than 200 local artists annually, featuring art, live music and even facepainting.
Anokhi Shah, a mitigation specialist for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, founded “Beauty Behind Bars” in October 2024 and held four other exhibits in the past year. Shah said she and the two other curators, LaVander Williams and Gregory Bolden, hope the exhibit showcases the artists’ talent and personality to help connect people with the experiences of people who are incarcerated.
“I think the main impact we want to have is just continuing to show people that incarceration doesn’t have any rehabilitative purpose and that people are deserving of, and can contribute a lot to, the outside world if given a chance,” Shah said.
Edited by Ben Ackman, Natalie Monga, Caleb Ogilvie and Kalie Walker.
