Heirius A Howell is the second youngest of 14 children. He and his family grew up in an environment that was not safe, ideal, nor was it healthy to raise children in, but his mother and father made the choice to give their children a better life, so they packed up and moved to Seattle, WA, in 1993. Although they would go back and forth visiting family in Chicago, Heirius had his last visit back to Chicago, in 2004. Heirius is a passionate man and loyal, and it has been used against him due to trauma, but he found his outlet through music, writing poetry, and dancing. He has made choices that he regrets but now is working to better himself by working through his trauma and healing from it. Heirius is a God-fearing Christian, man of God, father, son, brother, uncle, role model, preacher, author, poet, writer, songwriter, rapper/lyricist, dancer, actor, and activist. He has always had a passion for writing and performing to express his life experiences and valuable lessons he has learned in his life growing up. Mr. Howell was incarcerated starting at the age of 11 and it became a pattern and a relief as a way to escape the abuse he was experiencing. He was declined at the age of 15 years old and sent to prison. Since then he has been back 4 times. He is currently serving an indeterminate sentence. He is taking this time to work on himself, his mental health, his trauma, and becoming the best version of himself for his two daughters and family. The words on the paper reflect his thoughts, feelings, pain, growth, and love he has for his children, family, loved ones, and God. He is a member of the Black Prisoners Caucus (where he is the co-chair of the Family, Children, & Youth Committee), the Concerned Lifers Organization (CLO) (chairman of the Social/Event Planning Committee) Defy ventures - peer facilitator, Non-violent Communications/Freedom Project Mentor and the Peer Resource Center at Twin Rivers Unit located at the Monroe Correctional Complex, and many other programs and organizations that are focused on growth, change (through addressing trauma, helping heal and close wounds that stem from traumatic events in our lives), and working to make better people not better inmates/incarcerated individuals. Heirius Howell will be released later this year and he hopes to continue in this line of work and being a full-time dad while preaching God’s word. Thank you for taking the time to read my bio and may God Bless You! Heirius Howell #885359

David Jackson is a relentless visionary committed to creating opportunities for all, with a particular focus on marginalized and disenfranchised individuals. With a strong background in peer support, David understands firsthand the challenges of navigating spaces alone. Thus David’s vision drove him to create the first peer-based counseling center to exist within Washington State prison walls.

As the founding director of the Peer Resource Center, David is actively working every day to change lives through the transformative work of holding space for all who seek to be seen. David sincerely invites you to get involved with the work of healing better together. He can be reached anytime at david@peerresourcecenter.org and looks forward to building community with all who seek community!

Derik Maples is a 38-year-old writer, artist, and speaker, originally from Portland, Oregon. His areas of focus are personal growth, creative expression, and building authentic relationships with people who see him for who he is today—not who he used to be. Derik honors his mother, grandmother, and two younger sisters for helping him understand what it means to lead with love. That understanding shapes the way he shows up in the world—through poetry, speeches, music, and art. Guided by the belief that “Hard work works,” he practices becoming distinctively different every day, leaving his fingerprint through acts of expression and connection.

Other Artworks in the Exhibition:

Photo Requests from Solitary (PRFS) is a project that invites people held in long-term solitary confinement in U.S. prisons to request a photograph of anything at all, real or imagined, and then finds a volunteer to make the image. The astonishing range of requests received includes “the freestanding columns at the Great Temple of Amun, Karnak,” “A blue rose, cut with all its leaves remaining, held in a crystal/clear vase or a hand and if possible, the Perseids meteor shower as a background,” “a gray and white ‘Warmblood’ horse rearing in weather cold enough to see its breath,” and “Myself with a blue sky.” Taken together, these requests provide an archive of the hopes, memories, and interests of people who live in extreme isolation, surrounded by gray walls.

Filmmaker Dehanza Rogers’ video projection, commissioned by Eastern State Penitentiary, explores the criminalization of Black girlhood. We observe the struggles of three Black girls as they navigate authority and policing in the classroom. The filmmaker says her work illustrates, in part, the school to prison pipeline and the sexual abuse to prison pipeline.