Care Not Cages: Processing a Pandemic

Larry White, Prison is a Crime 1, 2020
Inkjet print, Edition of 10, 18 × 24 inches
Images Courtesy of Crenshaw Dairy Mart and Gallery Platform Los Angeles

Care Not Cages began as an artist relief fund for incarcerated artists, organized by Crenshaw Dairy Mart, an artist collective advocating through the lens of abolition and healing in Inglewood, California. Ten incarcerated artists applied for the fund and all ten received relief. Now six of those artists, Ras Allen, Mesro the Human Sun, Ronell Draper, Miguel Flores AKA Smoke, Orlando Smith, and Larry White, are exhibiting their work in Care Not Cages: Processing a Pandemic on Gallery Platform LA. The work, needed now more than ever, centers the voices of those most impacted by the pandemic. As of June 23rd, at least 48,764 incarcerated individuals have tested positive for COVID-19. Prison deaths tied to the virus have also risen by 73% since May.  

By disseminating the work of imprisoned people, the exhibition works to “ensure their narratives surrounding this pandemic are public, forthright, and asserted on view.” Curated by Ana Briz, independent researcher, writer, and curator, and Alexandre Dorriz, artist, writer, and co-founder of the Crenshaw Dairy Mart, the money raised from print sales will go directly towards producing books for the artists, and to the incarcerated artist’s immediate family. 

Protest posters, poetry, collage, hyper-stylized pencil work, and detailed illustration –  the mediums are varied and dynamic, reflecting the many ways experience can be expressed. One piece by Larry White depicts the meeting of the prison walls with the words “Prison is a crime,” illustrated across it. What they all have in common, though, is that they are illustrations of Crenshaw Dairy Mart’s vision: a world that denounces cages, and imagines care and dignity. Lee Phillips 

Donate to Crenshaw Dairy Mart here. Click HERE to see a list of Bail Funds organizations in each city, donate to help free incarcerated people from high-risk prisons.

Ras Allen, Brochure from series COVID-19: THE CORONA FILES, 2020
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
16 × 20 1/2 inches

Ras Allen, Happy Easter 1 series COVID-19: THE CORONA FILES, 2020
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
8 1/2 × 11 inches

Ras Allen, Happy Easter 2 series COVID-19: THE CORONA FILES, 2020
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
8 1/2 × 11 inches

Larry White, Prison is a Crime 2, 2020
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
22 × 28 ⅓ inches

Orlando Smith, Protest Poster from series Series 24, 2019
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
14 × 11 inches

Ras Allen, Solidarity from series COVID-19: THE CORONA FILES, 2020
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
8 1/2 × 11 inches

Ronell Draper, Untitled, 2020
Inkjet print
Edition of 10
5 × 6 1/2 inches

Miguel Flores AKA Smoke, Untitled, 2020
Inkjet print, edition of 10
5 × 7 1/2 inches