Hosting a feminist art show from prison

In March 2023, Empowerment Avenue, Fulton Art Fair, and the Brooklyn Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) will present "She Told Me Save the Flower," an exhibition of paintings, drawings and writing by Corey Devon Arthur. The exhibition will enable one of Brooklyn's fallen sons to make amends for a crime he committed in 1997, and for which he is still incarcerated.

A lifelong artist, Arthur has created a series of remarkable portraits dedicated to a group of women who have profoundly changed his life for the better. The exhibition, presented in a Brooklyn gallery during Women's History Month, will speak to the power of Feminism to heal a patriarchal carceral system that relies on brutality and oppression.

In order to send artwork out of prison, Corey paints composite pieces that will be brought together for the exhibit.

In Corey Devon Arthur’s own words:

Greetings. My name is Corey Devon Arthur. I'm a prisoner incarcerated in the New York State Department of Corrections. Besides that, I am a writer and artist with Empowerment Avenue. I'm also a restorative justice advocate, Quaker and a feminist. 27 years ago, I couldn't say that. When I was 19 years old, I participated in a robbery and killed a man. I am ashamed and sincerely sorry for what I did.

Ever since the age of 13, the criminal justice system has made me do a lot of things. Never once did they make me face the people I hurt, atone for my crimes, or even say, "I apologize." Fortunately, seven women thought these things were important for me to do. Here's how it happened.

"My life is like a rose that forgot to blossom." In 2015 Journalist Alexander Nazaryan of Newsweek quoted this line of my poetry in an article he wrote about me. Then in 2019 I met seven women. They introduced me to feminism. One of them said to me, "Corey Save the flower." I became a feminist and did.

I obtained my Associate's Degree from Nyack College. In 2020, I led my prison community during the onset and height of the Covid pandemic as their Inmate Liaison Committee Chairman. I have had my writings and art work published in various venues, The Marshall Project, The Drift, Writing Class Radio, Friends Quarterly Journal, Columbia Solution Journalism, Art Rebellion, Apogee, Witness Magazine, Mangoprism and more. I've been cited by The New York State Department of Corrections for my artwork. My artwork was given the Bronze award and toured with the Capitalizing On Justice exhibition.

I will be having a one-person art exhibit in Brooklyn during March 2023, Women's History Month. The exhibit will also have a video and audio documentary component to strengthen the bandwidth of the message.

The title of the exhibit is "She Told Me To Save The Flower." It is based on another poem I wrote. This exhibit is a prisoner's plea for the Criminal Justice System to introduce and utilize feminism for healing, as opposed to the patriarch model of rehabilitation consisting of brutality, abuse of power, and oppression.

There are seven women in my life who healed me without breaking my bones and locking me in cages. They did it by introducing me to feminism. Since then, my life has made a remarkable turn for the better. These women achieved in a few years what our current prison system could not do in over the quarter century I've been a prisoner.

It began when they created a space of radical acceptance that empowered me to be honest with my authentic self. They taught me how to honestly engage my emotions and emote. Beginning to understand my emotions led to me understanding the feelings of the people I hurt and why it was important for me to apologize and make amends.

This exhibit will feature my artistic rendering of feminists who inspired these seven women. I've also painted other feminist women who have personally inspired me. One of the most important lessons all these women taught me is that I can not do this alone.

The exhibit will also include sketches, drawings and paintings reflecting my years of incarceration.

I need your help to move this message to the masses and inspire them. I'm looking to raise $8,000 for costs associated with making this exhibit a reality. The proceeds of this fundraiser will be going to framing, administrative support, stipends, event supplies, tech support, and other costs necessary to produce this exhibition. Anything left over will be going to feminist-identifying organizations.

If you believe that people can be healed by education, community, and love, then you believe in the work these women have done. These women believe in me. This exhibit is evidence of both. Your contribution will help us challenge the criminal justice system head on. Together we can produce proof to the world that feminism works. Thank you.