Art by Incarcerated Girls Featured Newstip Date: 12-08-2004
Artwork and poetry by incarcerated girls will be displayed on CTA buses and trains starting this spring, sponsored by Girl Talk, a group that works with girls in detention and after release.
Watercolors and poems on the theme "Outside My Window" depict girls' experiences in detention as well as backgrounds of poverty, violence, abuse -- and bad decisions, said Jessica Jackson of Girl Talk.
The works will be unveiled at Acme Artworks, 1740 N. Western, on Friday, December 17, 6 to 9 p.m., in a program featuring performances by formerly incarcerated girls.
For the CTA Stories project, Girl Talk brought in artist Maggie Leininger of the arts education organization Marwan, Soyini Strong of the community arts groups Kuumba Lynx, and poet Tara Betts from Young Chicago Authors to work with girls aged 12 to 17 who were in detention over the last year, creating artwork and poetry.
An 11-year-old community-based organization, Girl Talk offers programs to develop self-awareness, self-advocacy and leadership for girls in detention and after they get out. A speakers bureau features young women who tell their own stories and advocate for change in the juvenile justice system.