While artwork in the Inside Art exhibit at Artspace covers a range of subjects and media, the varied pieces all deliver one message. Created by men incarcerated at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office (the Greenfield Jail), everything in the exhibit says loud and clear: "We're here, and we're members of the community."

How did art by incarcerated men find its way to an exhibit at Artspace? The first public event sponsored by the Elm Street Think Tank, Inside Art's origins are rooted in painting and writing classes offered to men at the jail and in a collaboration between Greenfield Community College and the Sheriff's Office. Established in December 2013, the Elm Street Think Tank is a group of community members and residents of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office who meet weekly at the jail to work on collaborative projects and promote alternatives to incarceration by raising awareness and connecting people, ideas, and resources.

The Think Tank grew out of a GCC sociology course (Crime and Punishment in the U.S.) which brings GCC students inside the jail to study alongside incarcerated students. The course and Think Tank are modeled on the international Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, based at Temple University in Philadelphia. GCC Adjunct Faculty member and Inside-Out instructor Revan Schendler has taught the course since 2011. Meeting in the jail library, a room with many paintings by jail residents displayed on its walls, Think Tank members admired the artwork and decided to create an exhibit in the community. Joan O'Beirne, GCC Associate Professor of Art and member of the Think Tank, began photographing the artwork in December: on display are prints of her photographs, since many of the paintings and drawings are no longer available, or have been painted over. The photographs and poems in the exhibit can also be viewed online at https://franklincountyinsideart.weebly.com/. Ya-Ping Douglass, a Think Tank member and former GCC student, created the website. At the exhibit's opening on September 12, Ya-Ping solicited comments to share with the artists and poets; GCC student/Think Tank member Julianne Jones and a local videographer recorded interviews with visitors.

Joan said, "When the men inside heard about the art exhibit, they were eager to be involved. More men showed up for Judith Harper's art class and Jim Bell's poetry class. It inspired more people to produce more art. Many visitors to the exhibit have responded, saying how the exhibit opened their minds and broke down stereotypes they have about ‘criminals.' The big message of this exhibit and the eagerness of the men to be involved is ‘we're not statistics, we'll be back in the community soon, we want people to know us.'"

Commenting on the impact of the exhibit, Revan said, "The exhibit and other community collaborations with the jail help break down the walls between those who are incarcerated and those who are not. It shows how much talent flows out of people when they are given a chance and encouragement. Access to education and to art helps develop their ability to learn and to express themselves. One goal of GCC classes in the jail is to build a jail-to-college pathway. The more education people have, the less likely they are to return to prison."

Inside Art is open Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. through October 3 at Artspace, 15 Mill Street in Greenfield. For information, contact Revan Schendler at .

By Mary McClintock, '82

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