Walls Turned Sideways is an art gallery, studio, and community space dedicated to artists and communities impacted by incarceration with a focus on collective liberation, healing, and abolition. The title of the space is based on a quote by Angela Davis, “walls turned sideways are bridges.”

Over the last year we have been building and maintaining bridges between people in prison and families and communities in Chicago through four areas of work: Art and Exhibitions; Political Education; Community Care; and Community Building.

Our focus on healing is led by formerly incarcerated people who use restorative justice circle practices to collectively grapple with the damaging impacts of the carceral system, impacts that they carry daily. And we’ve been so fortunate to be able to host free yoga classes for community members and organizers through the donation of Sonny Turski. In the new year we are planning to coordinate with Mud Theatre to offer Reentry and Love that combines our restorative justice circle with improv theater practices to help folks practice their way through the challenges of reentry.

In our gallery we’ve held 3 exhibitions featuring work by 29 artists who have survived the carceral system. Through works on paper, sculpture, video and creative writing, they’ve shared stories about the explicitly violent but also mundane details of how systems of punishment and confinement are designed to break people who resist poverty, racism, sexism, queer and transphobia, and more. In our studio we’ve hosted screen printing events with the Dr. Burroughs Legacy Project; stop-motion animation workshops with formerly incarcerated artists and the Chicago Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights; and custom shoe design workshops for young people led by James Lenoir. We’ve also held numerous poetry events organized by Orion Meadows and a one-man play by Anthony Spualding who Sarah first met in Stateville prison more than a decade ago. Anthony’s play was just covered in the Nov. 5 edition of the Chicago Reader! In this way, our work is to create space for formerly incarcerated artists to show their work, lead workshops, build an audience and sell their work.

Our Political Education series has featured numerous events including book talks with the authors of Imperial Policing, The Warehouse, and Temporary Monuments, and screenings and discussions with the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois. We’ve also been breaking bread with other activists, artists, and organizations in Chicago who are working to decarcerate and find real solutions to addressing harm. Together with the Chicago Torture Justice Center, we’re hosting monthly Abolition Lunches to sharpen our skills when we’re faced with harm in our organizations or communities.

Since we opened on January 27th, 2024, we’ve had hundreds of people walk through our doors, including families and loved ones of people locked up, people who are coming home from prison, artists, students, activists, and organizers. Over and over again people tell us that Walls Turned Sideways feels like a home base. We know that creating a space for families of people locked up, formerly incarcerated people, and all communities who are impacted by policing and punishment is a first, but important, step to creating community, solidarity, and radical change.

With your donation we invite you to Walls Turned Sideways to pick up a tee or poster from our growing collection of art made in our studio! In short, we’re asking you to donate and come see us in our space!

With gratitude,
Walls Turned Sideways staff: Sarah Ross, Pablo Mendoza, and Mira Simonton-Chao, intern Saale Pearson and board: Jimmy Soto, Tess Landon and Michael Harrell.

Support Walls Turned Sideways this giving season!

By Walls Turned Sideways

Support Walls Turned Sideways this giving season!

Help us keep our doors open and continue our work in Art and Exhibitions, Political Education, Community Care, and Community Building!