Matter News explores RAG’s vision for Home Free

In Matter News, Andy Downing takes a deeper look at Home Free and the Returning Artists Guild’s vision for using art to move conversations about incarceration toward abolition.

Presented at the McConnell Arts Center, Home Free features work by currently and formerly incarcerated artists, creating space for people directly impacted by the carceral system to tell their own stories. RAG co-founders Aimee Wissman and Kamisha Thomas talk with Downing about bringing that work into a traditional arts space—and reaching audiences who may not otherwise encounter these perspectives.

The story also explores the challenges incarcerated artists face in accessing opportunities, communicating with the outside world and even selling their work. For RAG, Home Free is an opportunity to challenge misconceptions about incarceration and ask audiences to imagine what freedom could look like.