An exhibition of art created by state prison inmates will open at the University of Delaware on Tuesday, Feb. 6, with a reception featuring a conversation with one of the artists and the UD student who is the show’s curator.

The exhibition, “Parallel Visions, Parallel Lives,” will display selections of work produced by the Prison Arts Program at Delaware’s James T. Vaughn Male Correctional Center near Smyrna.

After the opening reception, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, in Room 211 Old College, the show will be on display until March 2 in Recitation Hall Gallery. Located on the first floor of Recitation Hall, the gallery serves the Department of Art and Design as a rotating exhibition space for visiting artists and students; it is open from noon to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.

The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public.

Exhibition curator Bridget Killian, a master’s degree student in art history at UD, said she was exploring possible volunteer opportunities at community arts programs in the area when she came across information about the Prison Arts Program. At the same time, the departments of Art History and of Art and Design were pursuing an open-ended idea for a show on campus, and Killian proposed featuring the prison project.

She and artist Roy Hickman, who participated in the program when he was incarcerated, will speak at the opening.

The show will display about 15 works by four artists. All works in the Prison Arts Program are available for sale, with 70 percent of the proceeds deposited into the artist-inmate’s commissary account and 30 percent used to cover the cost of supplies and materials used by participants.

The program is supervised by a Department of Correction employee and taught by an inmate art instructor. It aims to boost inmates’ literacy and creative skills, sense of self-worth and discipline through the study of arts and culture.

Of the UD exhibition, Killian said, “One of our goals is to see if the arts community can find a way to incorporate programs like this into their efforts to connect artists in new and different ways.”

“Parallel Visions, Parallel Lives” is supported by the departments of Art History and of Art and Design, Museum Studies Program, Center for Material Culture Studies, College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office, Office of Equity and Inclusion and Office of Graduate and Professional Education.

The committee that selected the exhibition consisted of Jessica Horton and Jason Hill, assistant professors of art history, and Amy Hicks, associate professor of art and design.

March 1: Panel discussion

A related panel discussion, “Art and Social Justice in Delaware,” will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 1, in Room 211 Old College.

Community leaders will explore the intersection of art and justice, focusing on the development of connections to help former Vaughn Correctional Center inmates re-enter the community.

Panelists will be Emily Artinian of Network Delaware and Street Road Gallery, Michael Kalmbach of the Creative Vision Factory, Matthew Pillischer of the Delaware YWCA and Carmita Kelley of the Prison Arts Program.

The discussion, followed by a reception, is free and open to the public.