by Mark Bradford (Artist), Mark Bradford (Editor), Nicole Fleetwood (Editor)
A social practice art project expanding skill-based employment opportunities for the incarcerated
In 2017, American multidisciplinary artist Mark Bradford (born 1961) initiated a partnership with Rio Terà dei Pensieri, an Italian nonprofit working with two Venetian prisons. Through this collaboration, Process Collettivo was formed: an ongoing project that aims to increase employment opportunities within prisons and the city of Venice as a whole, while raising awareness about the political and environmental conditions that disproportionately affect marginalized populations. This eponymous volume provides extensive documentation of the project, including photos, testimonials by incarcerated people, and additional information about carceral systems and the people impacted by them.
Edited and with an introductory text by scholar Nicole Fleetwood, the book includes essays that contextualize Bradford's project through analyses of Italian and American prisons, a reflection of creativity as an outlet for the incarcerated and a discussion of the history of social practice art. Process Collettivo also features a conversation between Bradford and former Rio Terà president Liri Longo, in which they reflect on the obstacles and successes of their joint venture.