Restorative Justice Workshop Looks at Faces in Prison

Allyson Holtz and Howard Zehr discuss one of Holtz's mixed media portraits
Allyson Holtz and Howard Zehr discuss one of Holtz’s mixed media portraits of inmates on exhibit during the Summer Peacebuilding Institute at EMU.
Photo by Jim Bishop

In a one-of-a-kind art opening, international viewers gathered in a small gallery at EMU to mull over a group of portraits.

The exhibit listed no names for the men of varying ages and ethnicities depicted, though initials frequently served as titles. Artist Allyson Holtz said she had kept backgrounds simple because of having to work fast. Ditto for clothing, which, in fact, was the same for each: a prison uniform.

What stood out were the faces