The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Mass Incarceration – Jul 23

Posted by Free Library of Philadelphia on July 9, 2024

Philadelphia has the highest incarceration rate of any city in Pennsylvania, and the most locked-up census tracts in North Philadelphia have 17 times as many people behind bars as census tracts in Center City, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. This is one example of how data can help us visualize mass incarceration, which has been called the most pressing civil rights issue of our day.

The Free Library will help Philadelphians visualize mass incarceration this summer in connection to a vital new book, The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Mass Incarceration, by information artist Vic Liu and formerly incarcerated researcher and activist James Kilgore. Acclaimed author Michelle Alexander has called the book “a wonderfully attractive and accessible primer on the U.S. carceral state. . . [which] highlights the inspiring resistance that has emerged against this system of oppression and control.”

From July 8 through October 4, nine massive banner illustrations will hang in the Art and Literature Departments at Parkway Central Library. These banners, created by Liu based on her illustrations from The Warehouse will strive to communicate the sheer scale of suffering without neglecting individual stories.

On July 23 at 6:00 p.m., the Social Science and History Department will host a discussion with Liu and Kilgore, moderated by John Pace, Senior Reentry Coordinator for Philadelphia’s Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project. Registration is encouraged, but not required.

Learn more.