While the governor of New Jersey was preparing to make recommendations to build 3 new youth prisons, spending over $600k per year on imprisoning each young person, the New Jersey cohort came together around a campaign illustrating youth leadership and power. The jumpsuit takeback project grew out of the messaging “Put Youth in Power not Prison.” In a state where Black youth are 18x more likely to be incarcerated than their white peers, the team worked to create iconic images of BIPOC youth glowing with messaging and symbolism of their values and demands for NJ to invest in their dreams. Inspired by the iconography of The Black Panthers, Young Lords and Afro-futurism, the team settled on a color scheme that felt youthful, futurist and royal. They chose to play with crowns, butterflies and breaking chains. Nodding to the revolutionary history of the beret, they decided to nod to the lineage by including a graduation cap. The top line messaging that led this body of art included:

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Once the jumpsuits and caps were created, Performing Statistics and Project for Empty Space facilitated photoshoots with organizers wearing the garments in Newark and Camden. Portraits of the organizers were collaged into posters, banners and billboard designs. Giant banners were printed and hung in downtown Newark. During the #NoKidsInPrison exhibit in neighboring Philadelphia, billboards filled the streets of Camden. The woodcut sculptures are slated to be installed at a local organization in Camden. Art went up on the only billboard on the way to the largest youth prison in New Jersey, making sure that everyone driving there had to hear the demand of these youth leaders, “Put Youth in Power, Not Prison!

Check out each project section to see and learn more about the posters, billboards, banners and woodcuts created centering the youth wearing their abolitionist jumpsuits.

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