NPR

'The Writing On The Wall' Finds Poetry Behind Bars, Projects It Onto Buildings

"Look at all the wisdom, look at all the heart that is imprisoned in our society," says Hank Willis Thomas, cofounder of the art installation project.
"The Writing On The Wall" art installation projects writings by incarcerated people onto the sides of buildings, such as The New York State Supreme Court Building, above.

With millions of people behind bars in the U.S., artist Hank Willis Thomas thinks about all of the ideas that are locked away with them. "Look at all the wisdom, look at all the heart that is imprisoned in our society," he says.

He anda project that takes the words of incarcerated people beyond prison and jail walls. "There was so much poetry in there, just so much beauty, drawings, thoughts, so much reflection of humanity," says Dreisinger.

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