Skip to main content
Special Events & Exhibitions
All Ages
In-Person

Voices of Liberation Video Installation

Sunday, February 01 - Saturday, February 28, 2026

All Day

Prison Facade Events Thumbnail

Included with admission. Visit this video installation near the historic site’s central rotunda to hear from prominent civil rights leaders who spoke and wrote from behind bars, using their voices to challenge oppression and inspire collective change.  

Ask any staff member for more information.

About the Panelists:

We strive to make the penitentiary and our site, programs, and exhibits accessible to all visitors. Click here to learn more about accessibility and accommodations at ESPHS.



This program is part of A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future, a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs exploring the evolving meanings of liberty and justice in America. A Time for Liberty is made possible with support from civic and cultural partners including the City of Philadelphia, America250PA, Campus250, the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the Philadelphia City Fund’s 2026 Milestone Grant Fund, supported by PECO, the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program series, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This program is part of Finding Justice Month, a series of programs that invite visitors to explore how expression—through words, art, and music—has always been a natural and essential human right, even within spaces of confinement. 

This program is part of Finding Justice: The Civil Rights Movement. Through storytelling, historical interpretation, and creative engagement, these programs highlight the voices and actions of those who fought for civil rights and challenged the nation to live up to its founding ideals.  

Co-Sponsors

Event Sponsors

Interested in more events in this series?

Justice 101: Redefining Rehabilitation — From Norway to Pennsylvania
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person & Online

Justice 101: Redefining Rehabilitation — From Norway to Pennsylvania

Tuesday, September 08, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Free online and in-person. Join us for a conversation exploring Norway’s ""normality principle,” a groundbreaking approach to incarceration that prioritizes humanity and rehabilitation, and learn about ongoing efforts to replicate the model and research its impact through the Scandinavian Prison Project at SCI-Chester, a state correctional institution near Philadelphia.

Speakers include Michael Zaken, DCJ (Western Region Deputy Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections), Morgen Jaco (Deputy Commissioner of Restorative and Transitional Services, Philadelphia Department of Prisons), Stian Estenstad (Director, Network After Imprisonment—Norwegian Red Cross), Steven L. Chanenson, JD (Professor of Law & Faculty Director of the Girard-diCarlo Center, Villanova University), and Kevin Amir Bowman (CEO and Founder, Just Better Men; former resident of “Little Scandanavia” at SCI-Chester). 

Justice 101: Voices Beyond the Walls — Justice, Reentry, and Civic Power
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person & Online

Justice 101: Voices Beyond the Walls — Justice, Reentry, and Civic Power

Tuesday, September 15, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Free online and in-person. In recognition of National Voter Registration Day, the Philadelphia City Commissioners' Office and the Eastern State Center for Justice Education are partnering to present a panel and networking event exploring voting rights and civic engagement for justice-involved individuals and all community members.

Moderated by Vanessa Caracoza (Deputy Executive Director, Philadelphia City Commissioners' Office). Panelists include Omar Sabir (Chairman, Philadelphia City Commissioners’ Office), William “Bill” Hart (Associate Director, Temple University—Office of Community Affairs and Engagement), Benjamin D. Geffen, J.D. (Senior Attorney, Public Interest Law Center), Assata Thomas (Executive Director, Division of Reentry—City of Philadelphia’s Office of Public Safety), and others to be announced.

Democracy for All Week: Freedom of Expression
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person

Democracy for All Week: Freedom of Expression

Thursday, September 17 - Monday, September 21, 2026
All Day

This Constitution Day—and all week long—join us to reflect on the role of the First Amendment in securing freedom and liberty for all. Enjoy family-friendly, interactive programs that explore the power of journalism and art inside prisons and what free expression means for those who are not fully free. Image: Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration, © 2024, Mark Loughney. Presented in Collaboration by Mural Arts Philadelphia and Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

Justice 101: The History of American Incarceration
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future

Justice 101: The History of American Incarceration

Thursday, September 17, 2026
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Explore the history of the U.S. criminal justice system beginning with Eastern State Penitentiary, a revolutionary attempt at prison reform led by Benjamin Franklin and other Framers of the U.S. Constitution. Consider how founding ideals of liberty and freedom impacted—and continue to play a role in—justice reform today. 

Moderated by Kerry Sautner, Ed.D. (President and CEO, Eastern State) and featuring Ashley T. Rubin, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa), a leading scholar in U.S. carceral history and author of "The Deviant Prison: Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary and the Origins of America's Modern Penal System."

Firstival: 52 Weeks of Firsts
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
Special Events & Exhibitions
In-Person

Firstival: 52 Weeks of Firsts

Saturday, October 03, 2026
11:00am - 2:00pm

As part of a yearlong celebration of national firsts, join Eastern State for a full-day event exploring the history and legacy of America’s first penitentiary.

Justice 101: Erasure of Queer History
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person & Online

Justice 101: Erasure of Queer History

Tuesday, October 06, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Details to come, check back for updates.

Indigenous People’s Weekend
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
Special Events & Exhibitions

Indigenous People’s Weekend

Friday, October 09 - Monday, October 12, 2026
All Day

Details to come, check back for updates.

Justice 101: Religious Freedom and the Justice System
Justice 101
In-Person & Online

Justice 101: Religious Freedom and the Justice System

Tuesday, October 13, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Explore the complex legal story of religious freedom and the justice system, and unpack how it continues to unfold in courtrooms, prisons, and jails across the country today. Delve into notable rulings that protected the rights of incarcerated people to practice their faiths behind bars.

Speakers include Michael Moreland, J.D., Ph.D. (Professor of Law and Religion & Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Villanova University) and others to be announced.

Fall Festival
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person

Fall Festival

Sunday, October 25, 2026
3:00pm - 5:00pm

Free for kids in costume and their caregivers. No reservations necessary. Join us for some fall-themed family fun: trick-or-treating, scavenger hunt, story time, hands-on activities, art making, music, and more!

New Exhibit Opening!
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person

New Exhibit Opening!

Friday, November 20, 2026
All Day

Details to come, check back for updates.

Justice 101: From Natural Rights to "Slave of the State"- Philadelphia's Founding Vision and the Making of the "Slave of the State"
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person & Online

Justice 101: From Natural Rights to “Slave of the State”- Philadelphia’s Founding Vision and the Making of the “Slave of the State”

Tuesday, November 24, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Details to come, check back for updates.

Justice 101: Faith, Sanctuary, and Community
Program Series
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future
In-Person & Online

Justice 101: Faith, Sanctuary, and Community

Thursday, December 03, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Additional details to come, check back for updates. Join us for an evening that opens with a panel discussion and features live musical performances exploring how religious connection sustains people through incarceration.

Justice 101: Examining the Justice System and the Unfinished work of the Founding and the Prisoners' Rights Revolution
A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future

Justice 101: Examining the Justice System and the Unfinished work of the Founding and the Prisoners’ Rights Revolution

Wednesday, December 09, 2026
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Details to come, check back for updates.

Sign up for our newsletter