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The Creators
Get to know the creators behind the RE:ACTION Exhibition
In 2021, Illinois Humanities commissioned 14 new humanities- and arts-based projects by artists and humanists from across the state who grapple with issues related to mass incarceration in their work. Get to know our commissioned artists and humanists, and view their exhibition installations above.
Alexandra Antoine
Alexandra Antoine collaborated with Brandon Wyatt on Our Agreements. She is an interdisciplinary artist based in Chicago, Illinois.
Tara Betts
Dr. Tara Betts collaborated with David Weathersby on Unbarred Poetics. She is the author of the poetry collections Break the Habit, Arc & Hue, and the forthcoming Refuse to Disappear.
Janice Bond
Janice Bond collaborated with Sonja Henderson on the Mothers Healing Circle project. She is a photographer and visual artist based in both Houston, Texas and Chicago, Illinois.
Antonio Burton
Antonio L. Burton, also known as “Toni Picasso,” is a native of Decatur, Illinois. His faith in Jesus Christ has fueled his fluent gift in all arts, mediums, and skills.
Jasmin Cardenas
Jasmin Cardenas collaborated with William Estrada on the PUPPETS + RESISTENCIA project. She is a Chicago actress, director, published storyteller, deviser and arts activist who uses the mediums of story and theater to move human hearts towards compassion and action.
Maya Dukmasova
Maya Dukmasova is a senior reporter at Injustice Watch. Her work is focused on housing, the courts, policing, local government and social justice movements.
William Estrada
William Estrada collaborated with Jasmin Cardenas on the PUPPETS + RESISTENCIA project. He is an arts educator and multidisciplinary artist. His art and teaching are a collaborative discourse that critically re-examines public and private spaces with people to engage in radical imagination.
Michael Fischer
Michael Fischer helps edit a bimonthly magazine distributed to federal prisons and is a faculty member of the Odyssey Project at Illinois Humanities, a free college credit program for income-eligible adults. He is a Luminarts Cultural Foundation fellow, Illinois Arts Council grantee, and finalist for the PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship.
Amber Ginsburg
Amber Ginsburg has collaborated with Aaron Hughes on the Tea Project since 2009. She is a Chicago-based artist teaching at the University of Chicago.
Sonja Henderson
Sonja Henderson collaborated with Janice Bond on the Mothers Healing Circle project. She received her B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she concentrated in painting and drawing; and received her M.F.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, where she concentrated in sculpture and installation.
Renaldo Hudson
Renaldo Hudson is an educator and a community organizer with the Illinois Prison Project, and has focused his work on ending perpetual punishment in Illinois.
Aaron Hughes
Aaron Hughes has collaborated with Amber Ginsburg on the Tea Project since 2009. He is a Chicago-based artist, curator, organizer, teacher, anti-war activist, and Iraq War veteran.
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson is an independent documentary producer and cinematographer. He started his career working at PBS and ABC affiliates.
Mitchell S. Jackson
Mitchell S. Jackson’s debut novel The Residue Years received wide critical praise. Jackson is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing, a Whiting Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence.
Patricia Nguyen
Patricia Nguyen is an artist, educator, and scholar born and raised in Chicago. She is an Assistant Professor in Asian American Studies and the Council for Race and Ethnic Studies at Northwestern University, where she received her Ph.D. in Performance Studies.
Naimah Thomas
Naimah Thomas is a Black femme born and raised in Chicago who currently works as a licensed professional counselor, art therapist, and artist. Her clinical work and art practice often explore the intersections of art and mental health, primarily in BIPOC communities.
David Weathersby
David Weathersby collaborated with Tara Betts on Unbarred Poetics. He is a filmmaker and founder of City Vanguard, an arts organization that produces community-based documentaries for educational and cultural institutions.
Chicago Torture Justice Memorials
Chicago Torture Justice Memorials (CTJM) aims to honor and to seek justice for the survivors of Chicago police torture, their family members, and the African American communities affected by the torture. CTJM is a cultural collective founded in 2011 that has fused art, activism, and radical popular education with a tenacious commitment to antiracist politics.
Brandon Wyatt
Brandon V. Wyatt collaborated with Alexandra Antoine on Our Agreements. He is a "Universal Truth Seeker" who welcomes any involvement and indulges in progressive, productive, and peaceful affairs and developments.