On September 9, 1971, more than 1200 men started an uprising at Attica Correctional Facility to negotiate for humane living conditions, political rights, and education programs. Five days later, the siege had garnered the highest number of fatalities in the history of prison riots, but it also sparked nationwide rallies for prison reform and many artists offering solidarity, including Angela Davis, John Lennon, the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition, Guerrilla Art Action Group and Faith Ringold, whose poster United States of Attica (1972) framed the event within legacies of racialized confinement and resistance.

In 2021, while the 50th anniversary of the uprising brought renewed attention through a new documentary film, very few exhibitions or public events took place because of COVID-19 restrictions.

With Remembering Attica: the optics of uprising, Jared Owens will make a series of new works using visual research and interviews with protagonists to pay respect to the landmark efforts of those 1200 men and raise awareness of the ongoing issues of overcrowding and lack of prison reform. As an artist who is formerly incarcerated, Owens is particularly interested in visually presenting the creative ingenuity of siege posture and increasing audiences’ understanding of the carceral architectures in which men and women are confined.

In 2026, Owens will mark the 55th anniversary with an exhibition and publication that brings together artists who stood in solidarity with the Prison Movement at the time of the Attica Uprising, as well as new voices today who continue to speak out against systemic oppression.