We speak for ourselves! Prisoners speak out

We speak for ourselves!
Prisoners speak out

“Every prisoner is a stranger in their homeland”, said a prisoner. What does it mean to have no voice and to not be heard in the world out there? What rights do prisoners, many of them migrants, have here in Austria? The project addresses the issue of human dignity in prison and refers to concepts such as human dignity versus degradation, resistance versus adaptation, solidarity versus desolidarisation. Here, the prisoners have the floor. They speak for themselves and share their experiences. It is about representing one's own interests, expressing and reflecting on oneself through art, and finding training and work opportunities. What needs to change and who is fighting for it? The protagonist in the project is the Union for Prisoners' Rights, the first self-organised representation of prisoners in Austria.

Experience reports of former prisoners as well as the results of an art competition on the subject of ‘Human Dignity in Prison’ are shown as part of WIENWOCHE. The public presentation includes video recordings of interviews and a discussion with former prisoners and an exhibition of pictures and texts from prison. A cooking performance with prison recipes will provide further insights into the everyday lives of prisoners. Prisoners become visible and audible with their demand for solidarity in the fight for more rights and social participation.

Credits

Images and texts: Anonymous prisoners

Video interviews: Anonymous ex-prisoners

Project Co-Leader, Videos, AV-Production: Robert Bogić

Project Co-Leader, Interviews, Text Production: Monika Mokre

Design and Production Exhibition, Visuals: Jean Revret

Design and Production Exhibition, Visuals, Social Media: Miriam Suranyi, Cansu Tandoğan

Cooking Performance: Michael Kalivoda

Panelists: Maximilian Pollux, Samuel Meffire

Guided tour through the exhibition: Association “Richtungswechsel”, Association “Phoenix”