Hidden Lives Illuminated featured original animated films by currently incarcerated artists. Debuting in August 2019, 20 newly commissioned short films were projected onto the façade of Eastern State Penitentiary for 29 nights. 
Free and open to the public, the films were coupled with community programming including presentations by scholars, activists, victims’ advocates, and elected officials. Hands-on activities also provided viewers a chance to reflect on the films and discuss social and criminal justice issues. 
The stories told by prisoners at the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Chester and Philadelphia’s Riverside Correctional Facility for Women offer a rare look inside America’s correctional system, conceived, narrated, and animated by incarcerated people.
All 20 original animated films are screened during all public tour hours at the intersection of Cellblocks 2, 10, and 11. Included with admission to the historic site.
To learn more about this project and watch the films online, visit HiddenLives.org.
Major support for Hidden Lives Illuminated has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
