Inside Out: Perspectives on Social Justice by Carol Shapiro

“I am questioning, ‘What is justice?’ The need for innovation and risk in reform efforts and the impact of our prison industrial complex on poor families must be seriously considered. Too often, we overlook the imperative to incorporate creative methods to stimulate social justice reform. Family is used as a metaphor in my imagery encouraging the observer to engage in discourse and challenge assumptions. The title ‘Inside-Out’ refers to both the prisoner and the impact on the family dynamic.”

Carol Shapiro visited her first prison at the age of 16, and has since been a powerful force in pushing justice reform. She studied art and criminology at Carnegie Mellon University and founded a not-for-profit organization called Family Justice. Family Justice uses the visual and performing arts to raise awareness and organize interventions that engage social networks and staff of correctional facilities. Shapiro’s life has seen an inextricable twining of her passions for art and reform.