Access + Prisons: Photographing Inside + Sharing Outside

Wednesday, June 10, 2020
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

This event is with Eddie Herena, Robert Gumpert, and Megan Lynch
Moderated by Pete Brook

How are photographs made in prisons and jails? What purposes do they serve? Moderated by curator Pete Brook, this panel brings together an artist, a news photographer and a legal monitor who have made photographs in locked facilities in California. In pursuit of longterm goals and in service to positive change, these three image-makers share the unique circumstances under which they operated a camera inside.

While a prisoner at San Quentin, Eddie Herena was a staff photographer with the San Quentin News for over three years. Robert Gumpert made portraits and recorded stories with prisoners in the San Francisco County Jail system for over 13 years. Megan Lynch is an investigator and monitor with the Prison Law Office (PLO) and has made dozens of court-ordered visits into California state prisons to document and report on conditions. Lynch's images are included in PLO's ongoing filings providing oversight and protecting prisoners' constitutional right to healthcare.

In carceral space, cameras operate almost constantly to serve the security and surveillance interests of the state. Rarely, are cameras used for art, journalism or advocacy. This panel asks why and considers the outcomes for images made by creative citizens and legal support.

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