Beyond These Gates: Remembering Home, the Prison, and Place Yet to Be
Hosted by City RisingExplore the memories, complicated relationships, and possibilities held within the grounds of the former Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis as they face redevelopment. Join fellow community members to ask what it means to call a prison home—and what happens to those memories, histories, and connections when that home is transformed.
Event Details
What remains after the gates close? For the past 18 months, City Rising has explored this question by listening to women who lived at the former Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis and gathering stories from people connected to the site, its history, and its possible futures. As the former prison begins a long-awaited redevelopment, Beyond These Gates explores the memories, complicated relationships, and possibilities held within this place. For one night, we ask what it means to call a prison home—and what happens to those memories, histories, and connections when that home is transformed.
Enter an immersive multimedia experience blending audio from the upcoming Beyond These Gates podcast, video, live conversations, spoken-word poetry, and music. Encounter a place where memory and belonging, dreams and resilience converge through the voices of formerly incarcerated women and others connected to the site, alongside artistic interpretations of interviews and historical research.
The program features poetry by Marissa Byers, Corey Ewing, and Daniel Gray-Kontar, as well as music and video art by Kristin Newborn.
This event is part of the Spirit & Place Festival (Nov. 5–15). Learn more at spiritandplace.org. The program received support from an Indiana Humanities Action Grant.