jackie sumell, Artist
jackie sumell’s (she/her) work explores the interdependence of social sculpture, mindfulness practices, humanness and prison abolition. She has spent the last two decades working directly with incarcerated folx, most notably, her elders Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox.
Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. She has been the recipient of multiple residencies and fellowships including, but not limited to, an A Blade of Grass Fellowship, MSU’s Critical Race Studies Fellowship, Robert Rauschenberg Artist-as-Activist Fellowship, Soros Justice Fellowship, Eyebeam Project Fellowship and a Schloss Solitude Residency Fellowship.
An ardent public speaker and organizer, sumell’s long standing work with The Angola 3 has positioned her at the forefront of the public campaign to end solitary confinement in the United States, inviting us to imagine a landscape without prisons. sumell is based in New Orleans, LA where she continues to work on Herman’s House, Solitary Gardens, The Prisoner’s Apothecary and several other community generated, advocacy based projects.
jackie sumell (spelled all lowercase) is a multidisciplinary artist and abolitionist inspired most by the lives of everyday people and informed through working directly with incarcerated people. Her work has been anchored at the intersection of activism, education, mindfulness practices and art for nearly two decades. jackie became a Corrina Mehiel Fellow in 2020, just as the… Read More »A journey of Compassion and creativity with Jackie Sumell
