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Prison Reformed: Amsterdam Structure Now Hosts Refugee Center & Art Hub

26 Jan

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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A structure that once housed thousands of prisoners now hosts up to 1,000 refugees as well as a creative hub, offering space “in a time of fear and division.” Amsterdam’s Bijlmerbajes first opened in 1978 and closed in 2016, and the complex, which consists of six towers, went up for sale shortly thereafter. It’s set to be demolished later this year – but until then, it’ll function as a temporary home for those seeking asylum in addition to art studios, offices for entrepreneurs and other projects.

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The new ‘Lola Lik’ cultural hub opened on January 20th in the former main building of the prison, neighbor to the refugee center known as Wenckebachweg. The complex’s courtyard has been transformed into gardens, and will host Solar World Cinema, a project bringing free films to open-air public spaces.

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Lola Lik also hosts The Favela Painting Foundation, which “invigorates public urban spaces by turning them into inspiring and colorful artworks of monumental size.” The group, which is responsible for large-scale art projects in Haiti, Philadelphia and Rio de Janeiro, also helped give the drab concrete prison buildings a cheerful makeover.

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The space aims to be an incubator for inspiring projects and businesses operated by both the refugees who live next door and residents who have lived in Amsterdam a bit longer. The space is open to the public, and its studio spaces can be rented. The prison’s former kitchens have been transformed into a ‘Start-Up Kitchen’ run by Jay Asad, a Syrian entrepreneur who formerly owned several restaurants, a hotel and specialty donut shops in Damascus.

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Posted in Creativity

VR Journalism: Experience a Solitary Cell in Prison with ‘6×9?

02 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

6x9 jail cell

The Guardian has launched a virtual reality app for Android users, compatible with low-tech VR devices like Cardboard (which uses your mobile phone); its first story is about solitary confinement, which you can dive into virtually. The preview makes it sound like a horror film, but for prisoners life in solitary can really be a living nightmare.

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As The Guardian explains, “6×9 takes you to a virtual cell, telling a story of the psychological damage of extreme isolation. Right now, more than 80,000 people are in solitary confinement in the US. They spend 22-24 hours a day in their cells, with little to no human contact for days or even decades. We invite you into this world.”

6x9 simulation virtual reality

Throughout the enhanced story, six prisoners share personal experiences of life in solitary. This is to be the first of many new ‘virtual journalism’ efforts undertaken by the Guardian, and makes for a good prototype: the piece is impactful, relatively easy to simulate in VR (a single room) and highly relevant given growing concerns about prisoner isolation, especially in America.

6x9 how it works

Users without Cardboard or other virtual reality equipment can alternatively experience the story through 360-degree videos on personal computers or mobile devices. Whether this is a one-off experiment or the beginning of a new kind of audience integration remains to be seen, but so far the reviews of the app are overwhelmingly positive.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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‘Building Absence’: Stephen Tourlentes’ prison landscapes

23 Mar

Stephen Tourlentes started photographing prisons after a facility was built in his home town, in Illinois, USA. In his series of images entitled ‘Building Absence’, Tourlentes captures prisons at night, in the distance, their lights illuminating the landscapes in which they exist. By his own estimation he has photographed more than 100 prisons in 46 states, often from dead-end public roads and from within the communities that border the huge facilities. Click through for a look at his work.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Captive Imagination: Terrifying DIY Prison Tattoo Machines

28 Jun

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

Prison Tattoo Machines

When famed tattoo artist Scott Campbell visited a prison in Mexico to ink people held inside, he didn’t bring a tattoo machine – he made his own, the same way the inmates would, using the materials that can be found within the prison walls. The artist then immortalized these DIY creations in a series of realistic black-and-white watercolor paintings called ‘Things Get Better.’

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The title refers to the ‘things’ that the guns are made of: hair picks, plastic utensils, telephone cords, batteries and ballpoint pens. Campbell spent two months visiting the prison, where he worked with the inmates and tattooed them. Since he wasn’t allowed to bring tattoo equipment inside, he had to use what was available. He donated “a few VCRs and a beaten old guitar” to the prison rec room to help the process along. The motors from the VCRs and the guitar strings, which were then used as needles, proved extremely useful for his creations. The needles were sharpened on the grout between tiles.

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“I like the idea that inspiration can come from limitations,” Campbell told Life and Times. “There’s a general notion that inspiration is a sort of expansion of awareness or broadening of creative range. This work is inspired by parameters. The openness of a blank canvas and the infiniteness of the possibilities that canvas may contain can be paralyzing.”

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“When I have limitations –a confined range of materials –and a specific task to fulfill, it creates a little world that I can get lost in and walls to push against. These paintings are created within parameters that we can imagine ourselves in and, in that way, are relatable. The watercolors are humble and sweet in their simplicity.”

[ By Steph in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

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