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Art

We believe in the transformative power of art to foster conversation and catalyze change.

Since 1995, we have worked with more than 100 artists, commissioning work that speaks to both Eastern State Penitentiary’s history and the impact of the American criminal justice system today.

There are 15 art installations currently on view at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site—each offering a distinct, thought-provoking perspective.

Featured Installation

Mark Loughney

Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration

Mark Loughney

Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration

Mark Loughney

Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration

Presented in collaboration with Mural Arts Philadelphia.

Pyrrhic Defeat is a portrait series by Mark Loughney that humanizes incarcerated individuals and exposes the deep human costs of mass incarceration. The series offers intimate, dignified portraits that challenge the stigmatizing image of people within the prison system.

The title draws from the Pyrrhic defeat theory, which argues that the criminal justice system is designed to fail at rehabilitation and crime prevention—benefiting those in power and fueling a $180 billion prison industry.

In the latest phase of Pyrrhic Defeat, the project will expand to include portraits of criminal justice reform advocates, emphasizing both people directly impacted by incarceration and people working to dismantle the system. Loughney’s evolving work underscores that meaningful reform is a collective effort.

To learn more about the artist and how to have your portrait drawn for inclusion in this growing installation, visit loughneyart.com or @loughneyart on Instagram.

All Installations on View

A photo of artist William Cromar's exhibit GTMO. It shows a confined space enclosed by chain-link fencing. Inside are three white buckets, folded blankets or towels, an orange garment, flip-flops, and toiletries including a bottle of soap or shampoo.

William Cromar: GTMO

A recreation of a cell from Camp X-Ray, the now-abandoned holding cells in the United States Federal Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  

A photo from artist Greg Cowper's exhibit Specimen. It shows a display case with insects in a wooden box, a magnifying glass, bottles including a green one with a cork, and labeled cards. A stone wall is in the background.

Greg Cowper: Specimen

A collection of more than 500 insect and invertebrate specimens, inspired by a collection of eighteen species of butterflies and moths gathered by an Eastern State Penitentiary prisoner living in solitary confinement.

A photo of artist Michelle Handelman's exhibit Beware the Lily Law. It shows a dim, dilapidated prison cell with cracked, peeling walls. On the left is an old metal bed with a thin mattress. In the center, a projection of a person in an orange jumpsuit sits on a stool, holding an object.

Michelle Handelman: Beware the Lily Law

A video projection that uses the 1969 Stonewall Riots as a starting point to address issues facing LGBTQIA+ prisoners.

A photo of artist Tyler Held's exhibit Identity Control at Eastern State Penitentiary. The image shows a car parked in a narrow, dilapidated prison cell. The car is covered in dust.

Tyler Held: Identity Control

A stripped car inside a cell reflects on the idea that a man is “too easily reduced to an object” when institutionalized.

A photo of artist Jesse Krimes' exhibit Apokaluptein16389067:II at Eastern State Penitentiary. A cell is covered in photo collages across the walls and ceiling. Natural light enters through a skylight, while debris is scattered on the floor.

Jesse Krimes: Apokaluptein16389067:II

A 39-panel surreal landscape offering a visual narrative of the artist’s time in prison—created using bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper and magazine clippings and mailed home piece by piece.

A photo of artist Rachel Livedalen's exhibit Doris Jean. It shows the interior of a greenhouse with green-painted wooden frames and glass panels. The panels are covered with black-and-white photos and newspaper text. Sunlight filters through, casting shadows on the floor.

Rachel Livedalen: Doris Jean

Removable vinyl lettering and images on the glass panes of the historic greenhouse tell the story of the high-profile case of heiress Doris Jean Ostreicher. 

A photo of artist Mark Loughney's exhibit Pyrrhic Defeat at Eastern State Penitentiary. The image shows a grid of hand-drawn shoulder-up portraits, each capturing individuals in varied poses—some facing forward, others in profile or three-quarter view.

Mark Loughney: PyrrhicDefeat

A mural of portraits humanizing incarcerated individuals and shedding light on the immense human cost of mass incarceration in America.

A photo of artist Mark Menjivar's exhibit DLP Mirror. It shows an industrial interior with transparent vertical bars on the left, rusted prison cells in the background, peeling paint, and rusted metal bed frames.

Mark Menjivar: DLP Mirror

A multi-channel sound and architectural installation brings to light the story of David Lee Powell and the musical score he composed while incarcerated on death row in Texas.

A photo of artist Jess Perlitz's exhibit Chorus at Eastern State Penitentiary. It shows a deteriorating prison cell with a curved ceiling, showing extensive peeling paint and plaster. There are multiple connected speakers arranged along the edge of the ceiling.

Jess Perlitz: Chorus

An overlapping cacophony of songs responding to the artist’s question to incarcerated people throughout the United States: “If you could sing one song, and have that song heard, what would it be?”

A photo of artist collective Provisional Island's exhibit An Electric Kite. It shows a transparent plastic box with electronic components on a wooden pedestal in a deteriorated prison cell. The background includes a white toilet on the left, an open doorway, and a plaque mounted above the pedestal.

Provisional Island: An Electric Kite

A handmade radio transmitter in one cell transmits fragments of prison radio broadcasts to portable radios in the cell directly opposite highlighting the often-subversive role of radio in prisons.

A photo of artist Cindy Stockton Moore's exhibit Transient Room. It shows a narrow, dilapidated prison cell with exposed brick, peeling green paint, an arched ceiling, two rectangular wall openings, and a mirror across the middle reflecting the space.

Ann Reichlin: Transient Room

A reflective plane installed in a cell explores the contradictions inherent in Eastern State Penitentiary’s architecture and historic practices.

A photo of artist Dehanza Rogers' exhibit #blackgirlhood at Eastern State Penitentiary. In a narrow room with peeling paint and brick walls, four chairs face a projection showing people at desks in a classroom setting.

Dehanza Rogers: #BlackGirlhood

A video projection highlights the criminalization of Black girlhood, the school to prison pipeline, and the sexual abuse to prison pipeline.

A photo of artist Cindy Stockton Moore's exhibit Other Absences. It shows a dilapidated prison cell with peeling paint and exposed brick. Black-and-white portraits hang from the ceiling and walls. A pedestal with a book is positioned in the center of the room.

Cindy Stockton Moore: Other Absences

 

Fifty portraits that represent individuals murdered by people who would eventually be sent to Eastern State Penitentiary.

A photo from art collective Solitary Watch with Jean Casella, Jeanine Oleson and Laurie Jo Reynolds' exhibit Photo Requests from Solitary. Two people with audio guides examine documents in a narrow cell with mesh walls, peeling paint, and a small shelf of materials.

Solitary Watch with Jean Casella, Jeanine Oleson and Laurie Jo Reynolds: Photo Requests from Solitary

An ongoing project that invites people in long-term solitary confinement in U.S. prisons to request a photograph of anything at all, real or imagined, and then finds volunteers to make that image. 

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