The Arts and Humanities are for Everyone

Debra Brehmer is the project director for Art Against the Odds, an exhibition of currently incarcerated artists from state prisons. The project, which received grant funding from Wisconsin Humanities, features 30 artists who use the materials available, and work in a variety of mediums, to express themselves creatively.

Brehmer is an art historian and Gallery Director at Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art (PSG).  PSG has a history of representing underserved, marginalized artists. Many years back, Brehmer began working with a currently incarcerated artist, M. Winston, who makes tiny abstract landscape paintings of places he dreams about. She says that Art Against the Odds grew from a recognition that incarcerated artists appreciate access to an audience who can validate their successes, creativity, and humanity.

The exhibit, which will open in January at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, is a collaboration with the artists. Through phone discussion and letter writing, the artists have shared what it means to them to have their work in the public. A special room of the exhibit will display some of these letters, as well as audio recordings of this correspondence presented by actors.

We had a chance to visit with Brehmer and see some of the artworks that have been submitted earlier this fall. As part of our celebration of Arts & Humanities month, we asked for her thoughts on how she envisions Art Against the Odds will have impact that exceeds its duration.

WH: What role do you think the arts and humanities play in 2022, in facing current issues and concerns?  

Brehmer: Interdisciplinary practices are more crucial now than ever and it has been the arts and humanities that seem most agile when crossing borders and instigating collaboration between disciplines. This is how we will come back together, how we will literally bind humanity back together from the divisiveness of our current political condition. The arts and humanities can work across divides by finding common interests and generating projects that explore rather than alienate.

WH: What impact do you think arts and humanities programs, like Art Against the Odds, can have on your community? 

Brehmer: Art Against the Odds is an art-centered project that tackles multifaceted, diverse topics within the carceral system and society at large. Art is a window into universal interests. An exhibition featuring incarcerated artists has many undercurrents: Visibility for marginalized populations. Consideration of what rights, if any, we are entitled to as human beings. Contemplation of the complexities of the human psyche and heart. We are never just one thing — such as a criminal. This exhibition will reveal nuanced issues within the hidden world of prisons. I hope its afterlife will leave a trail of funding, college scholarships, and general curiosity toward systems of punishment and rehabilitation.

WH: For organizations that may not know of Wisconsin Humanities, how would you describe 'the humanities' to them?

Brehmer: The Humanities hinge on the human condition and all that implies. This emphasis is positive and feels empowering. If we don’t believe in humanity and our lives on this planet as part of the ecosystem, we are then surely doomed. The Humanities blend historic study and contemporary ideas to build narratives and understanding, to make discoveries about complex social constructions — the individual, the family, the society, the collective notions of existence. The heartbeat.

Human Powered is a podcast that goes inside

We are excited to share that our own Wisconsin Humanities podcast, Human Powered, will feature some of the artists who have collaborated on Art Against the Odds. In season 2 of Human Powered, we are in conversation with people who have been impacted by the justice system, by the Wisconsin carceral system, and by the humanities.

These are rich, powerful, meaningful conversations led by two incredible hosts: our Wisconsin Poet Laureate and creative change agent, Dasha Kelly Hamilton, and public historian and journalist Adam Carr. One of the people they talk with is Shannon Ross, an ongoing consultant with Brehmer on the exhibit project. Ross is the founder and director of The Community, a newspaper and now 501c3 that he started while serving a 17-year prison sentence. In his words, his mission is to connect "the untapped talent and humanity of incarcerated people with the untapped empathy and support of society."

We are thrilled to share this sneak peek 'trailer' from Human Powered season 2 and invite you to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You don't want to miss any of these important, impactful, and inspiring conversations!

Listen now!

Click here or find Human Powered wherever you get podcasts

We are celebrating our 50-year history as part of the vibrant cultural life of this state.

Whereas; the arts and humanities build connections and understanding between diverse groups of people within our communities, enriching the lives of all Wisconsinites...

NOW, THEREFORE, October 2022 is Arts and Humanities month!

→ Read the Governor's Proclamation!