Inside Outside | Gabriela Bulisova

July 13, 2012

Inside Outside

Gabriela Bulisova

Opening reception Friday, July 13 from 6-8 pm

July 13 – September 28 | Extended through October 12

The United States, with more than 5.1 million people confined in prisons or jails or under some form of correctional control, has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The United States also imprisons more of its racial minorities than any other country in the world. In Washington, D.C., the numbers are even higher – three out of every four young black men are expected to serve some time in prison.

Working with formerly incarcerated men has been a humbling experience. The burden of conviction and the constant reminders of the past are constant sources of pain and anguish that rarely wane. Although these men have firmly resolved to turn their lives around, they often waver, and the challenges they are confronted with make them want to give up. If one cannot find a job, if he cannot provide for his family, he is always tempted to find an easier way to make money, by returning to selling drugs or “hustling.”

This project offers the first-person accounts and insights of formerly incarcerated men on the process of reentry. It casts light on their plight in the hope that we will do more to help these men succeed in becoming productive members of society and caring family members.

Gabriela Bulisova