The Writing on the Wall at the Davenport Jail

The Writing on the Wall at the Davenport Jail

Open Saturdays, 12 – 3pm, On view until July 8

We are excited to announce the reopening of The Writing on the Wall at the Davenport Jail (70 Center St, Davenport)

The Writing on the Wall, a collaboration between Hank Willis Thomas and Dr. Baz Dreisinger, is a traveling exhibition of essays, poems, letters, stories, diagrams, and notes written by individuals from around the world experiencing incarceration.

The installation’s design references the palimpsest-like writings on the walls of prison cells, providing a spatial context for visitors and immersing them in the words of the incarcerated.

Another version of the project can be seen at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH), which occupies the site of the former county jail. At both locations, the installation invites us to reconsider the relationship between museoloqical spaces and sites of incarceration in Santa Cruz and beyond.

Save the dates! Join us on July 7 and 8 for related public programming:
July 7, 6-7 PM: Museums and Prisons: A Conversation with Dr. Baz Dreisinger, Devon Simmons, and Matthew Wilson at the MAH
July 8, 1-2:30 PM: Closing Weekend at the Davenport