Unchained Voices returns with new nonprofit status and more work by incarcerated artists
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DENVER — As Tamme Jones admired her son’s painting on the wall at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, her chest swelled with pride.
But her son, Dexter Lewis, won’t get to see his artwork on display.
Lewis is one of more than 130 incarcerated artists whose work is included in this year’s Unchained Voices exhibit.
“The elation is real,” said Jones. “Being able to see a part of him on this side, for everyone to bask in the ambiance of his creation, is just overwhelming.”
Previously a project operated under the umbrella of the University of Denver’s Prison Arts Initiative, or DUPAI, Unchained Voices collects, displays and sells artwork created by people incarcerated in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
The partnership between CDOC and DUPAI ended in August 2023, leaving the organizers of Unchained Voices without the support and access they needed to organize a show that year. The end of the CDOC-DUPAI partnership also resulted in the shuttering of two prison media programs: Inside Wire, a radio station, and The Inside Report, a prison newspaper.
After two years, Unchained Voices is back to its former scope and size, said Tess Neel, co-president of the Unchained Voices board of directors. Neel has worked with the project since 2020.
Last summer, the artists, lawyers and activists who work on Unchained Voices managed to pull together a much smaller exhibit. Afterwards, they decided to establish the project as its own nonprofit organization.
In its first year as a registered nonprofit, Unchained Voices returned Aug. 15 as part of the “High Walls” exhibit at Denver’s RedLine Contemporary Art Center, featuring twice as many artists as last year and many first-time participants.
Unchained Voices formed its own partnership with CDOC, separate from DUPAI. This connection makes it easier for organizers to communicate with artists, retrieve the artworks from the prisons and pay the artists when their art is sold.
All of the Unchained Voices artworks on display at RedLine and in the virtual gallery are available for purchase. Artists receive 70% of the commission from a sale. Unchained Voices keeps the remaining 30% to fund future exhibitions.
For many incarcerated artists, including Lewis, Unchained Voices is their only opportunity to display and sell their work to the public. The most an incarcerated person in CDOC can earn while working in prison is $5.23 an hour. This money can be sent home, put towards restitution or used to buy clothes, hygiene products, stamps and other necessities.
The proceeds from the sale of their artworks help incarcerated artists fund their next project and buy art supplies in prison. With limited funds, those supplies are a luxury. At the beginning of his incarceration, Lewis used the dyes from candy like M&Ms and Skittles to color his artwork, his mom said.
Lewis is serving a life sentence without parole at Limon Correctional Facility.
Lewis, 35, has been passionate about art since he was four years old. He started creating art with Jones after the death of his father and brother. Lewis is a prolific artist and sends most of his pieces home with Jones.
Lewis has contributed art to Unchained Voices since 2019. The project, called Chained Voices at the time, started in 2015. When Unchained Voices became a nonprofit last year, Jones joined as a board member. She helped set up this year’s installation.
“You can see the feelings of each piece, no matter what piece it is and what artist it is, you can feel [the emotions] throughout the gallery. So I'm just thankful to be able to share that,” Jones said.
This is the first year Unchained Voices has partnered with RedLine Contemporary Art Center. The Unchained Voices installation is one piece of a larger exhibit, titled “High Walls,” about the experience of incarceration.
The rest of the exhibit features work from incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, along with artists who create work about incarceration.
Each year, Unchained Voices gives participants a prompt for their submissions. This year’s prompt is “What I Value.” Lewis’ painting depicts his desire to see racial equality in America.
The exhibit at RedLine Contemporary Art Center runs through October 12. The gallery will host an Unchained Voices artist panel September 28, with incarcerated artists joining virtually to speak about their art. Tickets to the panel are free.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.