Abstract Khalid Thompson talks about his childhood in Richmond, Virginia, where southern hospitality is juxtaposed to the reality of historical and current social injustices. He reflects on visiting Washington D.C. in the early 2000s, learning about the underground visual and sonic arts, and moving to the District. He then moves and works as a bike messenger, really getting to know the city, including artists who make experimental arts, outside of the “norm”. Following encouragement from family and...

Abstract Leslie Bumstead talks about moving around the world as a child, because of work of her father as a CIA agent. She reflects on finding confessional poetry as an outlet to deal with teenage angst and adolescent issues. She is later introduced to experimental poetry in D.C., building connections and re-imagining what poetry can look like. Leslie spends some time in El Salvador, recording oral histories of women guerilla fighters and doing other NGO work in the region. She meets her husband, a...

Abstract Wendy Jason talks about Carole Alden, who was one of the artists for Justice Arts Coalition’s first exhibition of art by incarcerated artists at Rhizome DC. She notes the many barriers present in the prison for artists to express themselves creatively, moreover, to show their work to the outside world. After some time of building rapport, Carole joined the exhibition that Wendy organized, which included her work along with other artists, created while in prison. Wendy talks about childhood...