JustArts FREE Films & Gallery Exhibit

Throughout January, the Circle Cinema gallery will feature a special exhibition from JustArts Gallery featuring works by incarcerated artists. As part of the gallery opening on Thu 1/8, join us for an evening of FREE film screenings related to the exhibit. JustArts is a Tulsa-based community-driven initiative founded in March 2025 in response to the devastating and far-reaching impacts of the carceral system. Visit JustArtsGallery.com for more on their work.

The evening will begin at 6pm with a reception in the gallery while guests view the works on display. At 7pm guests will move into the theater for a FREE screening of short films including “Spoon” and “Love, Jamie.” “Spoon” runs 1h5min and explores dialogue born in a prison between Spoon Jackson - a black American poet imprisoned for life - and filmmaker Michka Saäl. The film is a poetic and political exchange imprinted on the dunes of the Mohave desert and her interior landscapes.  “Love, Jamie,” directed by Karla Murthy, is the story of Jamie Diaz, a transgender artist who was recently released after being incarcerated in Texas. The film shows the enduring friendship that brought her art of liberation and pride to the world beyond prison walls.

About the exhibit: The pieces on display were created by artists confined to prisons across the US. Imagining and creating within a system designed to erase is a radical act of resistance and a reclamation of identity, possibility, and worth. Your engagement with this artwork affirms the artists’ humanity. All works are for sale unless otherwise noted, with proceeds going directly to the artists or designated loved ones. Some of the artists have chosen to donate a portion of their earnings back to JustArts to help ensure they can continue sharing their work and keeping it safe. Your investment breaks barriers and funds art supplies, correspondence, shipping, and daily needs supporting the artists’ ongoing practices and connections with communities outside.

About JustArts:  JustArts is integrating incarcerated artists’ work and stories into community spaces while providing strategic support to organizations, educators, and advocates to make arts initiatives more accessible to people inside. JustArts strives to build more just and inclusive arts ecosystems; foster empathy, connection, collaboration, and healing across barriers; challenge the narratives that uphold and normalize systems of punishment and control.  JustArts welcomes volunteers, collaborators, and hosts! If you’d like to inquire about a purchase, feature JustArts artists’ work in your business, office, or public space, or learn more about the gallery and the artists  they partner with, visit JustArtsGallery.com or email justarts4all@gmail.com.