UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — School of Visual Arts faculty member Rudy Shepherd met Irvin Moore for the first time in early 2020, when Shepherd started teaching art classes at the State Correctional Institute at Rockview through Penn State’s Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI). Moore, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1969, was the unofficial leader of the informal group of artists who were getting some formal training for the first time.
“It became clear that things were running smoothly thanks to Irvin,” said Shepherd, professor of art. “I talked about Irvin for years after that, because meeting him blew up any type of understanding I thought I had about incarceration.”
Moore was released in 2021 and a few months later, ran into Shepherd on campus. Now they are part of a group organizing an art auction and exhibition benefiting RJI, to be held on Friday, April 14, 5-8 p.m., in the HumpDay Gallery in the Visual Arts Building on the University Park campus. Following the auction of select works, the exhibition, titled “The Human Impact,” will remain on display through April 21.
“A lot of people think about incarceration but don’t think of the people in there as humans — they think of them as less than human,” said Moore, community liaison for RJI, which is based in the College of Education. “But in truth those are our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, our children.”
Moore will have several works in the auction and exhibition, mainly acrylics. Other artists who donated works include Shepherd, fellow School of Visual Arts faculty members Brian Alfred, Marissa Baez and Bonnie Collura; School of Visual Arts alum and Penn State staff member Lindsey Landfried; and several undergraduate and graduate students.
Moore said his goal is to educate about the “human element” inside prisons.
“There is an entire world of experiences that takes place in the prison — a lot is bad, but there are also angels and saints in there, whose lives change the course of your own in very positive ways," said Moore. "The exhibit is about the human element, the human entity.”
The Restorative Justice Initiative was founded in 2015 in part to highlight that human element, by empowering and supporting currently and formerly incarcerated individuals through education and meaningful civic engagement. RJI provides the funding for Shepherd’s art classes at Rockview.
Shepherd said he and Efraín Marimón, RJI director, are also working on mounting an additional exhibition of work by currently incarcerated individuals. The April 14 event is intended not only as a fundraiser, but a way to raise awareness of what RJI does.
“This is a way to promote the work we are doing in the prisons,” said Shepherd. “When you share what you are doing, it gives people ideas about how they can make a difference. This will be an educational experience for people to learn about the human impact of the criminal justice system.”
The auction and exhibition are sponsored by the Restorative Justice Initiative, the College of Education, and the College of Arts and Architecture. For more information, contact Shepherd at crs17@psu.edu. Gifts to the RJI can also be made online.
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