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The artwork displayed here was created and submitted by participants of the Incarcerated Scholars Conference. We are honored to share these creative works publicly to celebrate the talent, voice, and vision of the artists.

All works remain the intellectual property of their respective creators. The images, names, and likenesses of the artists are shared solely for the purpose of viewing and appreciating their work.

Reproduction, distribution, sale, or any other use of this artwork, including use of any artist’s name, image, or likeness, without explicit written permission from the creator, is strictly prohibited.

By viewing this gallery, you agree to respect the integrity and ownership of each artist’s work. Our goal is to make these creative expressions visible and valued—while protecting the rights and dignity of those who made them.

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Bearing Witness

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Incarcerated Scholars Conference Art Gallery 2025

Bearing Witness

Robert Curry

Knox College

Illinois

Bearing witness is a multifaceted act. Bearing witness empowers us as students and observers of life. We are able to account for moments, events, time, and beings both interpersonally and intrapersonally.

The many complex assignments of this act transfers the responsibilities of decision making, action and wisdom unto us. Bearing witness not only marks us as proof, it also manifests agency amongst us. Depending on what’s actually being witnessed, our mental and emotional faculties are ignited into collisions of psychological energies. In these moments we can take on the characteristics of suffering, extreme joy, accountability, truth as historians. Accounts of our witness can buckle us while in other instances it can uplift and mobilize us to become social (socio-cultural) cultural agents of harmony.

Often times our experiences as witness bearers remind us while also educating us of our connections to the stories and events that form life. We become testimonies and guardians of perception and reality.

Artist Statement

Robert Curry is a Chicago native, born in historic Bronzeville. Robert has been incarcerated for 2 decades for a crime he did not commit. During his carceral journey Robert has pursued education as a means of liberation and art as a form of expressive therapy. Robert has been an artist since childhood, however, his potential skill as a artist was shelved and replaced by his need to survive. Robert creates art by writing about Black liberation and works with both paint and pencil that depict the politics of the oppressed. In essence, I make art for all the men and women in this world that has been negatively impacted by white supremacy.

If you are the artist of an artwork featured in this gallery and want it removed, please reach out to alliance@higheredinprison.org

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