Somewhere, a woman is serving time behind bars for a crime she committed. She is separated from her family, from her children, from the world she knows. The unique experiences of women like this are chronicled in one of two new exhibits opening in January at Union. “Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States,” is on display in the Mandeville Gallery Thursday, Jan. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 28.
Made up of eight linked installations, “Interrupted Life” seeks to educate viewers about the facts, problems and potential solutions surrounding imprisoned mothers. The show aims to be both a vibrant visual presentation and a pedagogical intervention that stimulates new perspectives and learning opportunities.
Some of these learning opportunities will come from events related to the exhibit, which the College is hosting in January and February. These include a screening of the film “Prison Lullabies,” lectures from regional experts, and a discussion with curator Rickie Solinger.
Solinger is an independent historian and director of WAKEUP/Arts in New Paltz. Her exhibit has been traveling since 2006 and has visited more than 24 venues in the U.S.
The second new show, curated by Denis Foley, is a forensic exhibit of alcohol-related and impaired-driving crashes in the Capital District. Running Thursday, Jan. 7 through Sunday, Jan. 31, “One Second, Everything Changes” focuses on the children and young adults impacted by these accidents.
“One Second” is presented by the Lewis Henry Morgan Institute and sponsored by the Mandeville Gallery and Schenectady County STOP-DWI program.
Events related to both new exhibits are listed below. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, click here.
Event: Opening reception for “One Second, Everything Changes”
About: Remarks by Denise Cashmere, Schenectady County STOP-DWI coordinator; Robert Carney, Schenectady County District Attorney; Denis Foley, curator; and Lisa Savard, mother of crash victim
Date: Thursday, Jan. 7
Time: 5-7 p.m.
Place: Nott Memorial
Event: “Prison Lullabies” screening
About: In conjunction with “Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States." The film chronicles four women struggling with drug addiction, indicted for dealing and prostitution, and serving time in New York’s Taconic Correctional Facility. All four give birth behind bars in the facility, one of only five in the country with a nursery and a program that allows women to keep their babies for the first 18 months. Post-screening discussion with filmmaker Odile Isralson and Lavonne K. Jackson, one of the women featured in the film.
Date: Thursday, Jan. 28
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Reamer Campus Center
Event: “Violent Interruptions” lecture by Joshua Price and Noelle Chaddock Paley
About: In conjunction with “Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States." Price, director of the Philosophy, Interpretation, and Culture Program at SUNY Binghamton, and Paley, interim director of Multicultural Life and adjunct professor of Africana Studies and Philosophy at SUNY Cortland, will speak about their research and experiences with the Broome County Jail Project.
Date: Thursday, Feb. 4
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Reamer Campus Center
Event: “Interrupted Lives in Schenectady: Stories from G and H Blocks”
About: In conjunction with “Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States." Discussion with Rev. Kathy Gorman-Coombs, counseling coordinator for YWCA-NENY, Deacon Pat Jones of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and others. Women who work with women in the Schenectady County Jail discuss the issues they encounter and share stories of the inmates they work with.
Date: Thursday, Feb. 11
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Nott Memorial
Event: Talk by Rickie Solinger, curator of “Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States”
About: Contemporary policies and politics of incarceration are a part of a national history that has constructed female sexuality, fertility and maternity as opportunities for institutionalizing racism. This has made racialized distinctions between different groups of women or mothers legal, commonplace, invisible and unobjectionable to many Americans.
Date: Thursday, Feb. 25
Time: 4 p.m., reception to follow from 5-7 p.m.
Place: Nott Memorial