Not Who You Think I Am: An Exhibition of Art by Incarcerated Women opens in Dallas May 1 at La Reunion Texas (LRTX) Gallery

by PegNews wire

Photo by Laura Seewoester

A group of dolls from one of the Resolana classes.

More than 2,100 women live behind bars in Dallas County Jail and Dawson State Jail. Few of these women have committed violent offenses; their primary pathway to incarceration is through substance abuse and the underlying factors of trauma, poverty and mental or emotional illness.

Not Who You Think I Am presents art made by these incarcerated women. The works reveal complex inner lives and poignant stories, shattering the comfortable assumption that those behind bars are somehow “different.” Instead, the art they make reveals – to themselves as well as to others – that they are an integral part of the magnificent, deeply flawed human family.

Resolana, a young Dallas-area nonprofit, gave the women the opportunity to create these works. Resolana, which offers a wide variety of psycho-educational as well as creative programs, helps inmates make constructive use of their time in custody by developing skills, tools and inner resources that can improve their own lives and those of their children, families and communities.

Photo by Laura Seewoester

Bette Buschow, co-founder of Resolana, shows off piece the class made from one of their prior sessions.

“Making art can help anyone cope with stress, work through painful experiences, gain insight, and learn problem solving skills,” says Bette Buschow, founder and president of Resolana. “The exuberant art these women create is a tangible expression of themselves that we are proud to share with the public.”

Background

Resolana is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization working to empower women to break the cycle of incarceration through holistic, gender-sensitive, rehabilitative programming. For more information about Resolana, please call 214-681-2440 or see their web site.

Source: Resolana