M Kelley’s flags in the exhibition We Count: First-Time Voters represent the journey of reentry for formerly incarcerated individuals. Working with Project Return, Kelley arrived at the themes of participation, struggle, confinement, and incitement after interviewing people who have restored their rights and speaking with advocates for system reform. Learn more about the artist, their process, and the conversations that inspired them as they are joined in dialogue by Phyllis Cross, one of the interviewees who inspired the flag Unlock (Vision and Struggle), and Shaun Giles, the Frist’s assistant director for community engagement.

M Kelley. Burn (Action and Incitement), 2019. Relief print, thread, and fabric, 50 3/8 x 30 in. Courtesy of the artist. © M Kelley. Photo: John Schweikert
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