Poet Melissa Ferrer Civil, founder of the social justice organization A Nation In Exile (from the artist)
“‘CTRL + Burn’ is a two-fold conceptual exhibition title that marries our relationship to nature with our technological age,” said poet Melissa Ferrer Civil, founder of the social justice organization A Nation In Exile (ANIE).
The title refers to a controlled burn, similar to prairie burns in the Flint Hills. The Indigenous agricultural practice began as a way to burn flora on designated areas of land “in order to provide nutrients and restoration to an ecosystem, improve wildlife biomes, and prevent future fires.”
“’CTRL+Burn’ is a month-long art exhibition and abolition academy featuring work by currently and previously incarcerated individuals, as well as creative workshops hosted by the community,” according to the Nation in Exile website.
Highlighting human incarceration, “CTRL + Burn” conveys the desire to “burn down institutions of carcerality and oppression in order to allow more fruitful, restorative, caring and compassionate systems to take its place,” said Ferrer Civil.
ANIE in partnership with Decarcerate KC, along with the nonprofit Black news startup Kansas City Defender and Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, are hosting a series of August events at Turnsol Books. The Aug. 2 opening night performance, IGNITION, at Turnsol Books featured Sent1one, Robert Coppage II, Jacob Waldrup, and Khalil. Decarcerate KC shared information about the newly passed crisis intervention REACH program. Decarcerate KC organizers have been impacted by incarceration and “want to see a better way to treat people whether they make mistakes or not,” said Ferrer Civil.
Johnny Waller moderates a roundtable discussion at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 between previously incarcerated artists Bobby Bostic, Robert Coppage II, and Jacob Waldrop, who discuss creativity behind and beyond bars.
The Aug. 15 writing workshop at 7 p.m., organized with the Kansas City Defender focuses on imagining a world without chains. The exhibition’s Aug. 29 closing event at 7 p.m., “In Khaliifah’s Words,” assembles poets from St. Louis and Kansas City. Melissa Ferrer Civil, John “Hypocrace” Lewis, Sheri Purpose Hall, and Tracy Stanton will read the works of Marcellus Khaliifah Williams.
Williams, who faces execution Sept. 24 for murder, was granted an August 21st evidentiary hearing before a judge. St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell reviewed the DNA results and filed a motion to vacate Williams’s conviction, asserting the DNA evidence exonerates him.
Two incarcerated people were set free in Missouri in July 2024 after their convictions were overturned. Christopher Dunn, 52, was freed from a Missouri prison after serving 34 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Similarly, Sandra Hemme, who served 43 years for a murder, was freed from a western Missouri prison in July after a judge deemed sufficient evidence existed of her innocence.
Exhibition events and work by ANIE and fellow organizations remind audiences of the humanity of the incarcerated, share their artistry and voices, and draw attention to the plight of innocent people unjustly incarcerated.
“We don’t believe change happens unless it is led by those who are most impacted by the issues that we want to change,” said Ferrer Civil. “There’s always what Jesus said: ‘I was in prison and you visited me.’ I always want to be a person who is highlighting and uplifting the voices that our society tries to erase. And that includes incarcerated folks.”
“CTRL + Burn” continues at Turnsol Books, 1664 Broadway Blvd., through Aug. 29. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; some evening hours for special events. For more information, anationinexile.com.
