We’re honored that Westword recently shined a spotlight on our upcoming exhibition and summit: High Walls: Artists Navigate Structures of Confinement.
Maria Gaspar, On the Border of What Is Formless and Monstrous, 2016
five-channel sound and video installation. Duration: 14 minutes and 52 seconds. Dimensions variable.
With the U.S. leading the world in incarceration rates, and Colorado’s rate at approximately 614 per 100,000 people, High Walls brings an urgent, long-overdue conversation to our community through the voices of artists directly impacted by incarceration.
As Westword notes, the exhibit grew out of a conversation that McKenzie had with Shamos back in 2023, when they determined that they needed a higher-profile exhibition on mass incarceration.
High Walls features work by artists currently or formerly incarcerated in the Colorado Department of Corrections—like Cedar Annenkovna, Sean Marshall, and Dustin Ware, whose creations offer a deeply personal lens into prison life and hope.
““From the beginning, we didn’t want it to be just an art show, but a series of events and programs giving deeper insight into the ring of issues around the space of incarceration.””
Their art is shown alongside nationally recognized contemporary artists, including Maria Gaspar’s immersive five-channel sound and video installation and evocative photography by Sara Bennett.
Hector Castillo, The Walls I See, The Walls I’ll Never See, 2025, acrylic on masonite panel, 24” x 30”
The High Walls exhibition presents a rich array of media—murals, paintings, sculpture, drawings and much more. Local activism and community engagement are also central to the exhibition, with projects like a mural workshop for system-impacted youth led by Chicano-activist Emanuel Martinez.
But the exhibition is just the beginning. On Saturday, August 16-Sunday, August 17, the High Walls Summit invites you to dive deeper with workshops, panels, live performances, readings, and more. Free and open to the public, this
Read the full Westword article here >
High Walls Opening Reception
Douglas DC Lehman, Liminal Presents and Futures Self-Portrait, 2023, graphite and ink on paper, 11” x 14”
Friday, August 15, 6-8pm
High Walls Summit
August 16-17, 2025
From Saturday, August 16 through Sunday, August 17, join us for a two-day summit that explores the impact of incarceration and our criminal-legal system on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole.
