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SMCI ART SHOW: ART IN PRISON “SPEEDS UP TIME”
Leakesville, MS (Mar 20) – Inmates at South Mississippi Correctional Institution are winning awards for painting and sculpture and, in the process, are making their time fly.
Inmates were recognized last week for their creative talents in a wide range of artistic expressions during a program held at the state prison in Greene County. Several kinds of art reflected the advanced talents of 25 inmates – from meticulous drawings to metal working, using parts from car engines. Music by prison’s inmate band led off an expanded art exhibit and awards ceremony.
Inmate artist Troy Bridges, convicted of multiple bank robberies, has been behind bars for 39 years. Bridges said his art projects make serving time a little easier.
“You’re focusing. And when you’re focusing your energy in one spot, then time doesn’t exist anymore. It just goes away,” Bridges said.
First place winner inmate Shannon Walters took bearings, gears, and a timing chain from a car engine and created a metal guitar. Woodworkers sculpted birds while others recreated their old home places.
Superintendent Brand Huffman said giving the inmates opportunities to show their talents is part of helping to make their incarceration a little better over time.
“Alright, change is coming. We’re going to make it better. It may not be overnight, but we are going to make it better,” Huffman said, adding that he hopes to one day open the exhibit to the public allowing people to purchase the art so inmates can build up a nest egg for when inmates are paroled.
MageeNews.com is a news source serving Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi.
