[slow paced instrumental]
- Keri White: Today, we're in La Crosse, Wisconsin
putting up 40 pieces in the County Administration Building.
- Chad and Keri White
are hanging an art collection.
- Chad White: So, having acquired
all of these different pieces of artwork.
- I personally really like this one.
- Chad: We started to see that they were, you know,
sitting in a closet in a tote.
- Keri: Okay? [laughs]
- Chad: And we realized it would be really nice to be able
to have those out and display them.
- Each of the eclectic works
has one thing in common.
They were all created by current or former prisoners.
- It is an honor
to give that gift to someone of a voice.
[somber guitar]
- That voice comes through
a one-of-a-kind magazine called The Pen Project.
- We want it to rival any other mainstream art magazine.
You know, like I want it to have that same feel.
- Chad and Keri run the magazine
out of their architecture and design firm in Eau Claire.
- Producing a magazine is really fun.
I appreciate the nostalgia of art and writing
on plain old paper, not on a screen.
It's easier on the eyes. [Keri laughs]
- The work is by prisoners
to share with fellow inmates and the wider world.
- Chad: Prisons are on the edges of cities.
It's pretty rare that someone would drive by
and wonder how things are going in there today.
And they're human beings and many of them are hurt
and have experienced
some pretty difficult things in their lives
that led them to be there.
- Chad and Keri first learned about prison life
while playing with "Five Thirteen Free,"
a band that performed for inmates as a form of ministry.
- Chad: Some of the inmates started asking for
copies of the lyric sheets so they could sing along.
They started presenting some of their lyric sheets
of songs that they had written.
And then that led to creative writings
and then, artwork as well.
I was actually pretty surprised
at the quality of the artwork.
Some of it was phenomenal.
- The experience inspired the idea
of producing a bound volume of works by inmates
at Jackson Correctional Institute in Black River Falls.
- Anthony: Something like The Pen Project comes along
and it starts to, like, give you maybe a little hope,
a little voice, a little purpose,
like, "I can do something with my time here that maybe counts."
- Anthony Schofield saw firsthand
the impact the project had on his fellow inmates.
- The look and the hope on some of these guys' faces,
to have something, like, printed in a magazine.
It was, like, life changing.
- Now out of prison,
he still makes art in his free time.
- Anthony: I do a lot of visualization, like, in my mind,
but I just actually recently started a new piece.
- While Anthony continues to contribute,
the reach of The Pen Projects magazine
has expanded greatly.
- Chad: The publication just continues to grow.
Starting out, you know, in one facility,
and then today, being at 55 different facilities
in 12 different states.
- Much of The Pen Project's content
reflects the spirit of its Christian mission,
but it's not a requirement.
- I didn't want to have a big boundary of,
"Well, you believe this, and so you can't participate."
I didn't want that to happen.
- Thank you all for coming.
If I could have your attention.
- After all the works are hung
in the County Building,
there's an opening reception and presentation.
Keri speaks for an artist who,
understandably, can't be present.
- I just wanted to share with you
what he wanted to say this evening.
"Art has the power to change moods,
"alter opinions,
"evoke dreams.
"For me, art is a saving point.
"Art is a moment for thought.
"We all have dreams and we all seek beauty in life.
"Thank you for choosing my art to be presented in this way.
This is a big moment for me."
[applause]
- The event is sponsored
by La Crosse Jail Ministry and La Crosse County.
- Doug Weidenbach: Because, of course, we run the jail
here in La Crosse County.
So, I thought it would just be an excellent fit
between things like economics,
things like rehabilitation in the jail,
and also just pure beautification.
You have excellent artwork that comes out
that is just strikingly beautiful.
- It's kind of a cool overlap.
And I think my hope for it being
in this County or Government Building is
a lot of people walk in through these County doors,
and I hope that they take time to look at the art,
and read the submissions on the wall,
and realize that The Pen Project is out there.
- As long as The Pen Project is out there,
Keri and Chad will keep working
to humanize people in prison.
- I like breaking down those stereotypes
because at the root of it, you have a human
with a brain, with a heart, with emotions.
- Emotions and heart
that are shared in every issue.
- Chad: There's talented people everywhere,
in prisons included.
[gentle instrumental music]