In an art therapy group in the Philadelphia county jail during the COVID-19 pandemic, incarcerated women explored their ideas about home, safety, the lives they were leading and the one they were missing out on. Each participant was given a 10” by 10” universal puzzle piece made out of cardstock, and encouraged to use markers and colored pencils to visually create memories, ideas, letters to themselves, and messages to the world. Each puzzle piece was chain linked to others and hung in a display at the Kimmel Culture Campus’ Fall Arts Fest in 2022. Visitors who stopped to view the artwork were invited to respond to the artists by creating their own responsive puzzle pieces, which were collected and delivered back to the group participants.
Puzzle Project by Jacqui Johnson
