People’s Paper Co-Op

“On the Day They Come Home,” a sculpture by Courtney Bowles and Mark Strandquist in the exhibition “Staying Power,” featuring five women who are fighting to end life sentences in Pennsylvania. The women are Tamika Bell, Paulette Carrington, Starr Granger, Ivy Johnson and Yvonne Newkirk. Photo by Kriston Jae Bethel for The New York Times

‘The People’s Paper Co-Op Work collaboratively with a group of former life-sentenced women and use art to support the fight to free all women and trans lifers in Pennsylvania. From art fundraisers to power campaigns, to creating films and designing billboards seen by tens of thousands. The People’s Paper Co-Op use art to amplify silenced voices, to destroy stereotypes, and to demand and dream of a world where no women or trans person is serving life.’ – People’s Paper Co-Op

I’ve been working with Mark and Courtney on People’s Paper Co-Op projects for the last five years or so. I support the mission of their work and I love working with them not just because what they do is important but also because they are simply a lot of fun to work with.

After this project was completed it was exciting to see the different news outlets publish about the installation. Above is an image from the New York Times. I also saw articles from Philadelphia Inquirer and NPR. I am always so inspired by the work the PPC do in Philadelphia and I was so glad to be able to open the doors of the Haverford Maker Arts Space for this project.

Here’s another project we collaborated on.

The project, the artists and the content are the important parts of this piece. I was just happy to help out and continue to support the mission of the People’s Paper Co-Op.

There’s a lot more content on this piece here.