Brief description of the exhibition 

Emergence, a partnership between Justice Arts Coalition and Workhouse Arts Center, features work by artists previously and currently confined to carceral institutions across the United States.

Emergence not only bears witness to the Workhouse Arts Center’s past as a former prison complex, but to the current state of the carceral system in the U.S. Through over 50 pieces of artwork, this exhibition invites viewers to explore and question the circumstances in which both the venue and artwork were made and asks them to consider what is possible by reclaiming a space created for captivity and transforming it into a place of creative possibilities.

A reception for Emergence will be held on August 13 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM featuring artist talks. Beginning at 6:30pm there will be a teach-in led by the End the Exception Project. End the Exception is a national art campaign calling for eradicating the Thirteenth Amendment exception clause, which allows for the continuation of slavery as punishment for a crime. The teach-in uses art making and viewing to ask participants to consider how their personal experiences connect them to the historical legacy of prison labor.

End the Exception is a national, three-phased public art project focused on the exception clause of the 13th Amendment. Following the call for artwork and the teach-ins, End the Exception will use the artwork and the lessons learned from the teach-ins to enter the project's third phase, creating impactful public art installations. An exhibition will be created curating the art pieces produced by incarcerated artists. They will be installed at the People's Plaza at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in the states of the partnering organizations. The public art installations will tell the story of the Thirteenth Amendment from the deeply personal viewpoint of those inside prison walls. Mural installations are expected to be installed in September following Labor Day.   

The project received generous funding from the Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and funds from the City of Philadelphia.