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The opening of a new art show will take place Sunday, November 4 at 3:00 p.m. in the Barn at Pendle Hill. The featured artist, Luis Suave’ Gonzalez, who was sentenced to life in prison when he was 16, is dedicating sales of his work to benefit the Swarthmore-based Sagewriters, which publishes books of literary and social merit by prisoners, families, activists, victims, and corrections professionals.

The opening will include a presentation by Sagewriters’ director, Judith Trustone, on “My Journey into Shadow America.” There will be performances by international jazz artist Byard Lancaster and a cappella gospel singers Men on a Mission, who are graduates of the Philadelphia-based Who So Ever Gospel Mission, a job-readiness program for former drug abusers and the homeless.

Luis Suave’ Gonzalez, who calls his work “Complex Simplicity,” wants to raise funds to help publish books by writers in prison who otherwise could not be published. He works with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project inside Graterford Prison, heads LACEO, the inside Latin American Cultural Exchange Organization, and is also a member of Lifers, Inc., Prison Literacy Project, Hispanic A.A. and N.A., and the Village of Arts and Humanities. He is a volunteer with Alternatives to Violence, National Threshold Program, ESL, and many other organizations.

Illiterate when he first came to prison and diagnosed with an IQ of 52, Gonzalez is now working on his B.A. from Villanova University. He says, “Since my incarceration, I have transformed myself into a role model for many of my peers in this prison and the free community. I’m also part of Juvenile Lifers for Justice, people who’ve been sent to prison in their teens. I hope someday I’ll get a chance to prove my innocence and be freed. In the meantime, my art and my volunteer work give me much joy and satisfaction.”

Gonzalez’s work has been shown at the Mural Arts Program, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Montgomery County Community College and other venues.

Judith Trustone notes, “This is a chance for the public to see some incredible art, to learn more about our broken criminal justice system and the people and organizations working to heal it, to see the human face of those we tend to deem less than human, and to experience the brilliance behind bars.” Sagewriters grew out of Trustone’s creative writing class at Graterford Prison in 1999, and today the non-profit works with writers in prison from around the country.

Trustone has a weekly internet radio show, “Healing Justice” on Saturdays at noon on www.gtownradio.com, and teaches a class at Masterman High School in Philadelphia also called “Healing Justice.” She was named “Peacekeeper of the Year” by the Delaware County Peace Center in 2006, and “An Author Who Makes A Difference” by Infinity Publishing. She was the co-director of “Justice Month” declared by Philadelphia City Council for March 2007, coordinating 28 artistic events culminating in a national conference on alternatives to prison. Her website is www.Sagewriters.org.

For more information on the art exhibit, please call: 610-328-6101 or contact info@sagewriters.org.

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