Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
Inmate Art Exhibit to Benefit Habitat for Humanity

FRANKFORT, Ky. – An exhibit featuring inmate artwork will be held later this month and proceeds from the sale will benefit Habitat for Humanity. An opening reception for the arts and crafts show will be held Sunday, May 20 at the Beargrass Christian Church, 4100 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, at 2 p.m.

“This is an incredible and new kind of opportunity to continue Habitat's partnership with the DOC,” said Mary Shearer, executive director of Kentucky’s Habitat for Humanity. “The response has been fantastic, with the men's and women's desire to help and take part in Habitat's partnership to provide simple, decent and affordable homes, built in partnership with God's people in need. We are very excited.”

The type of artwork to be exhibited includes paintings, pencil sketches, fiber arts, three dimensional works, a handmade mandolin, and a piece donated by Marvin Francis, the inmate artist at Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP) in Eddyville who won the International Assemblage Art Competition, sponsored by Gallery 24 in Berlin, Germany.

Artwork for the exhibit is being sent from several Kentucky prisons including Luther Luckett Correctional Complex, Kentucky Correctional Institutional for Women, Northpoint Training Center, Green River Correctional Complex and KSP.

After the opening reception on May 20, the artwork will be displayed throughout the week at Beargrass Christian Church. For more information regarding the art exhibit’s opening reception on May 20 or Kentucky’s Habitat for Humanity, contact Shearer at 859-896-1299.