Curated by Elgin Bokari Smith of
Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative
We are so proud to bring you the second installment of Locked Achievements. This year’s exhibition focuses on artwork made in Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative classes for girls at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) on Chicago’s West Side. The talented artists themselves have subtitled this year’s exhibition Stages of Expression, reflecting their experiences learning how self-expression is an evolving journey.
This year’s classes were led by teaching artists Marcela “Marci” Okeke and Johnetta “Awthentik” Anderson. They focused on helping students let their inner light shine through portraiture and poetry. These talented youth created works with powerful narratives that, while specific to the pain and trauma of growing up in prison, also speak to universal human struggles around friendships and love. While not everyone has had to endure incarceration, we all need friendship and love. Because we are all human.
Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative (SGLAI) empowers people through the art of storytelling, with a focus on incarcerated youth. Through SGLAI programming, youth get a chance to produce their own songs and albums, publish their own comics, and realize how powerful their voices and stories can be. These achievements can have a profound impact on students’ lives, from inspiring their choice of career to positively influencing their court cases and bids for freedom. That is why we use this exhibition and its accompanying exhibition catalog as mitigating evidence which is formally submitted to all of the participating artists’ official records.
Abolition now. Abolition forever. Until we achieve that more humane world, everyone must continue to support our children and help them realize the power of their voices and their artistic potential.
Jump to…
See the Exhibition
Locked Achievements is on display at The Beautiful Cat from September – October 2026. As a window gallery, the works are viewable 24/7 at the northeast corner of Granville and Winthrop. It is located just a half block east of the Granville Red Line stop and a block west of the 147 express bus at 1070 W Granville, Chicago, IL 60660.
Closing Reception
Join us across the street at Pete’s Pizza on Thursday, March 27th from 6-8pm as we farewell our first exhibition. We’ll have a DJ, food, a guided gallery tour by the curators, and a Q&A with SGLAI. We’ll also be writing messages of support to the children in the show, most of whom are still incarcerated.
Learn more about the reception
Pete’s Pizza is located just a half block east of the Granville Red Line stop and a block west of the 147 express bus at 1100 W Granville, Chicago, IL 60660.
Meet the Artists
Camiyah A.
poet
Kemora M.
poet
Serenity C.
poet
Message the Artists
Send a message to the artists, most of whom are still incarcerated. Your words of support mean a lot!
Meet the Teaching Artists
Johnetta “Awthentik” Anderson
Poet, Teaching Artist
Nate Olison is a comic artist who specializes in helping people express themselves through art. As an SGLAI teaching artist, he mentors incarcerated youth, including the students featured in this exhibition. Check out the interview below to learn more about how Nate and SGLAI use empathetic teaching practices to help students realize that they can shine by sharing their voices with the world.
This piece, Harriet Tubman in Space!, is an afrofuturist meditation on some of the questions that dominate Nate’s life. What does a utopia consist of exactly, and what would we have to heal in order to create one? How much of the past can you take with you to the future? What is left when you forget who you are?
Check out Last Year’s Exhibition
Exhibition Catalog
Bring the artists’ work home with an exhibition catalog showcasing works from the show as well as a behind-the-scenes look at SGLAI classes.
