"From the Inside" Exhibition Closing Reception and Panel Discussion

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The Judith Center will host a celebratory closing event for its exhibition From the Inside: Presented by Just Detention International On November 21, 2026, from 5-8 PM, The Judith Center will host a celebratory closing event, open to the public, for its exhibition From the Inside: Presented by Just Detention International. From the Inside features nearly one hundred works by individuals who have experienced trauma behind bars, many of whom have been subjected to sexual abuse while incarcerated. Most of the artists are current and former participants in therapeutic art workshops led by Just Detention International, which provides a space for incarcerated people to process trauma through creative expression. The pieces that emerge from this program reveal the devastating and personal impacts of the criminal legal system, and propose that visual art can serve as a powerful tool for bearing witness to injustice. The exhibition reflects Just Detention International’s broader efforts to challenge institutional sexual violence and affirm the fundamental principle that no matter what crime a person may have committed, rape is not part of the penalty. The evening will include a panel discussion, from 5-6 pm, Reimagining Justice: Making Change from the Inside Out. This panel brings together advocates, including formerly incarcerated people, to discuss their work to shape change and build power. Together, they will explore the roles that advocacy, healing programs, and community play in transforming the experience of incarceration and the broader justice system. The panel will invite the audience to think about how we can play our part in shaping new narratives and working toward a more just future for incarcerated people. Moderated by Esther Lim, a member of Just Detention International’s Board of Directors and a policy advisor, the panel participants will include: Vanessa Sapien, Just Detention International’s Mental Health Program Director; Dee Farmer, Founder and Executive Director of Fight4Justice, Legal Consultant for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and a member of Just Detention International’s Survivor Council; and Christine Parker, Senior Staff Attorney in the Gender, Sexuality & Reproductive Justice Project at ACLU, Southern California.

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