Dialogue: The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Mass Incarceration

Co-authors James Kilgore, National Book Foundation Award-winning author of A People’s Guide to Mass Incarceration, and Vic Liu will engage in a conversation about The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Mass Incarceration. Participating in the discussion will be Aminah Elster, a legal advocate and researcher dedicated to transforming the criminal legal system. She champions prison abolition and co-founded UAHERS, empowering incarcerated individuals in California through education and advocacy.

This event is a partnership with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP). 

A first-of-its-kind primer that vividly portrays the visceral reality of incarceration, The Warehouse combines James Kilgore's research-driven opposition with Vic Liu's artistic interpretation, using mediums available to prisoners. Join Kilgore, Liu  and Aminah Elster from the California Coalition for Women Prisoners for a reading and discussion on empathy and accessibility. How can we truthfully convey the dehumanizing effects of incarceration without further dehumanizing those involved?

Aminah Elster is a legal and policy advocate, researche, and facilitator committed to systemic change in the criminal legal sphere. As a Black feminist, prison abolitionist, formerly incarcerated professional, and leader in CCWP, Aminah co-founded and leads Unapologetically HERS (UAHERS) to address the critical needs of individuals incarcerated in California women’s prisons. UAHERS empowers through educational opportunities and advocacy, amplifying their voices with both research and experiential knowledge.

James Kilgore is a formerly incarcerated researcher and activist based in Urbana, Illinois. He is the author of six books, including the National Book Foundation Award-winning A People’s Guide to Mass Incarceration. He drafted four of those volumes during his six and a half years in California prisons. He is a research fellow at MediaJustice, where he founded the Challenging E-Carceration project and is director of advocacy and outreach for FirstFollowers Reentry Program in Champaign, Illinois. 

Vic Liu is an artist and author known for using design to convey complex information with empathy. She authored Bang! Masturbation for All Genders and Abilities and has created various impactful works, including materials on the Syrian Opposition's fragmentation for the state department, pamphlets on womxn workers' rights with the 2020 Center for Urban Pedagogy, and a physical toolkit for birth control discussions with the Baltimore City Health Department.

CCWP is a grassroots abolitionist organization—with members inside and outside prison—that challenges the institutional violence imposed on women, transgender people, and communities of color by the prison industrial complex (PIC). We see the struggle for racial and gender justice as central to dismantling the PIC and we prioritize the leadership of the people, families, and communities most impacted in building this movement.

 Copies of The Warehouse will be available for sale and signing. 

Connect:

PM Press: Website | PM Press: Instagram PM Press: X

James Kilgore: Website | James Kilgore: X

Vic Liu: Website | Vic Liu: Instagram

CCWP: Website | CCWP: Instagram | CCWP: Facebook