ART
A New Kind of Pottery Collective
Initiative bolsters formerly incarcerated LGBTQ folks
BY NICOLE AKOUKOU THOMPSON
We don’t get redos, but
we do get new opportunities.
People’s
Pottery Project, a
Los Angeles-based artist-driven
initiative, offers those opportunities
to formerly incarcerated women,
trans, and non-binary individuals
by way of clay and ceramic
art. Full-time artists at the studio
benefi t from skill-building, paid
job training, gainful employment,
and a judgment-free haven.
Sculptor and mixed-medium
artist Molly Larkey co-founded
People’s Pottery Project in 2019 in
response to a need. An active member
of Californians United for a Responsible
Budget and the California
Coalition for Women Prisoners
(CCWP), and an ally to the Black
Lives Matter, Indigenous Sovereignty,
and Occupy Wall Street
movements, Larkey saw an opening
for a self-sustaining, artistic,
and collaborative space that staves
off recidivism and calls attention
to the urgent need for sentencing
reform.
“A few years ago, I became a
member of CCWP, which focused
on providing support to women,
trans, and gender-nonconforming
formerly incarcerated within the
Californian prison system, and I
became familiar with their challenges
and trauma,” Larkey told
Gay City News during a Zoom interview.
“I learned how central it
is to formerly incarcerated people
that they have a creative outlet, an
opportunity. Though I’m a more
traditional fi ne artist, I started to
incorporate ceramics, which I’ve
always loved. I ended up buying a
kiln and a slab roller, and I had a
warehouse studio space.”
She added, “Then, I began providing
free classes to formerly incarcerated
women, trans, and
non-binary people, initially with
ceramicist Alex Miller’s help. At the
same time, I charged others in the
community on a sliding scale. The
organization began to take shape.”
People’s Pottery Project took inspiration
from other mutual aid
The People’s Pottery Project offers classes, work, and more.
The work of the People’s Pottery Project on display.
organizations, such as Homeboy,
a rehabilitation and re-entry program
providing training and support
to formerly incarcerated and
gang-involved individuals. Since
1988, Global Homeboy Network
has become the blueprint for over
250 organizations and has impacted
lives as far as New Zealand
and South Africa. Still very
new in its journey, People’s Pottery
Project already has a survivalistsfocused
framework, bolstered by
its art-centered community that’s
pro-people and anti-systems of oppression.
In addition to full-time and parttime
employees, People’s Pottery
Project invited formerly incarcerated
FACEBOOK/PEOPLE’S POTTERY PROJECT
PEOPLE’S POTTERY PROJECT
persons to assist with production
on an as-needed basis, and
they were paid a living wage for
their efforts. The studio debuted
their signature item, the People’s
Bowl, a deep, wide-surfaced bowl
wearing a two-tone blue and brown
glaze. The one-of-a-kind bowls and
the People’s Plate are sold on the
organization’s website, which helps
fund the employment of the artists
and the operation.
“I create art that I love and
adore,” said co-founder Domonique
Perkins, who also assists with social
media, product design, and
operations. “It’s an accomplishment
for me. I feel that I’ve done my
good deed, that I’m a good person,
and I feel strong. In addition to using
the pottery wheel, I reach out
to others, I mentor, and I motivate.
I work with the CCWP and help
people adjust to society.”
While there are more men than
women in prison, the number of
imprisoned women has increased
at twice the rate of men since
1980. According to the Sentencing
Project, the female incarcerated
population is more than seven
times higher than in 1980. When
it comes to race, the fi gures are
far more damning. According to
the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
in 2019, the imprisonment rate
for African-American women (83
per 100,000) was over 1.7 times
the rate of imprisonment for white
women (48 per 100,000). And this
unevenness begins at an early age.
The placement rate for Black (94
per 100,000) and Native girls (123
per 100,000) between the ages
of 10 and 17 are higher than for
Asian girls (3 per 100,000), white
girls (29 per 100,000), and Hispanic
girls (31 per 100,000).
The American Journal of Public
Health published fi ndings showing
that sexual minorities, particularly
lesbians, and bisexual women,
are disproportionately incarcerated
in the U.S.; in fact, they’re
three times more likely to be incarcerated
than their heterosexual
counterparts. Overrepresentation
is far more pronounced for women,
as sexual minority women represent
nearly half (42.1 percent) of
individuals incarcerated in female
prisons. Lara Stemple, one of the
study’s authors, attributed this to
the fact that the societal perceptions
of masculine people of color
also apply to women, resulting in
over-policing.
Each year, there are 1.9 million
women released from prisons
and jails. Thankfully, within the
last few decades, there has been
a growth in the number of organizations
invested in meeting the
needs of women, trans, and nonbinary
individuals. Without proper
pathways to the right kind of sup-
➤ POTTERY, continued on p.31
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