At the end of last month, on March 29th, about half of the class made their way up to downtown L.A. to visit The Prism Way, a non-profit that supports and is managed by individuals who have been released from years of incarceration. We were there to hear from Megumi Nakazawa, a recent graduate of Biola who studied both art and sociology. Megumi works at The Prism Way where, among other things, she paints the portraits of those recently released from prison. Her project, Faces of Mass Incarceration, includes three-hour interviews with those whom she paints, letting each of her subjects share their stories verbally as she captures their images on canvas.
As Megumi herself writes,
Each portrait, painted from life, represents a person who has been formerly incarcerated, system impacted or affected by the criminal justice system in some way. Though each story was different, I was struck by the humanity in each individual. As I painted and conversed with each person, I found friendship, kindness and a deep desire to be better than their worst moment.
These portraits seek to honor the dignity in each individual.
Megumi gave us a tour of the facility, showed us her studio, and introduced us to some of her portrait subjects who work at The Prism Way.
Afterwards, we ate lunch at the Grand Central Market then walked to The Last Bookstore, where Chris bought a Shirley Jackson novel.
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