Each year in the United States there are nearly 150,000 minors as young as 10 years old booked into confinement facilities for reasons ranging from truancy to violent crime. Many have histories of abuse, abandonment and addiction. Over the past eight years, Ross has traveled to juvenile detention facilities across the country, photographing young prisoners and recording their stories. The result is large-scale photographs which focus on the young people Ross has encountered, accompanied by their own personal stories.
The more recent photographs by Ross include the young women he met in juvenile detention centers all over the United States. The images, along with the heart-wrenching personal stories, will be featured at the Figge in Girls in Justice for the first time publically. The exhibition will open Saturday in the fourth-floor gallery, and will be on view until March 15.
Ross's earlier work with both young men and women will be included in Juvenile in Justice at Augustana Teaching Museum of Art beginning March 9. The photographs put a face on juvenile detention centers and allow the viewer a glimpse into the lives of these inmates. The exhibition will be on display through April 18.
Both exhibitions are funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Ross holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work has been exhibited internationally, and monographs of his work have been published, including in Museology and The Architecture of Authority. Ross has published two books in conjunction with this project: Juvenile in Justice, with a foreword by Ira Glass, host of NPR's This American Life; and Girls in Justice, with a foreword by Marian Ross Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund. Both books will be available in the Figge Museum Store.
Companion Programming:
FIGGE EVENTS:
Film: What I Want My Words to Do to You
6 p.m. Thursday, January 29 • John Deere Auditorium
This documentary of a writing workshop led by playwright Eve Ensler takes an unprecedented look into
the minds and hearts of the women inmates of New York's Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.
Any One of Us: Words from Prison
7 p.m. Thursday, February 19
Augustana students will perform a collection of stories written by women in prison moving toward healing
and change as they use their voices to impact policy, laws and treatment of incarcerated women.
Closing Reception/Artist Talk
Thursday, March 12
5:30 p.m. Closing Reception • 7 p.m. Artist Talk
Mingle with Figge members and photographer Richard Ross before joining Ross in the Figge auditorium
for a talk about his experiences.
Exhibition Tours
1:30 p.m. Sunday, January 25, February 22
1:30 p.m. Saturday, January 31
AUGUSTANA EVENTS:
Juvenile in Justice Opening Reception
4 p.m. Friday, March 13
Augustana Teaching Museum of Art, Centennial Hall
Richard Ross will be present at the reception to chat with attendees.
Panel Discussion
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24
Augustana Teaching Museum of Art, Centennial Hall
A panel discussion on issues of juvenile injustice as it relates to the Quad-Cities area.
About the Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members, and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.
About Augustana Teaching Museum or Art
The Augustana Teaching Museum of Art is in Centennial Hall on Augustana's campus at 3701 7th Avenue. The museum consists of a permanent collection of 4,250 art objects and also sponsors a rotating series of gallery exhibitions and programs during its annual season, serving more that 35,000 visitors each year. Hours are noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday when school is in session. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about the museum please call 309.794.7469, or visit www.augustana.edu/artmuseum.
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