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Hidden Lives Illuminated
Hidden Lives Illuminated is a series of original animated films created by currently incarcerated artists. The series debuted in August 2019 when the 20 newly commissioned short films were projected onto the façade of Eastern State Penitentiary for 29 nights. Now, all 20 films can be viewed online.
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The Big Graph
This 16-foot tall, 3,500-pound plate steel sculpture illustrates the unprecedented growth in U.S. incarceration rates since 1900.
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Al Capone's Cell
Alphonse “Scarface” Capone got his first taste of prison life in Philadelphia.
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Jewish Life at Eastern State
Eastern State’s synagogue was almost certainly the first built in an American prison. A set of workshops next to the synagogue has been converted into The William Portner Memorial Exhibit on Jewish Life at Eastern State Penitentiary.
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Murals of the Catholic Chaplain's Office
Warden Michael Cassidy built these impressive spaces for his offices in the 1880s. This space became the offices of the prison’s religious staff. Prisoner Lester Smith painted 23 murals on these walls in 1955.
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Prisons Today
Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration elicits personal connections to recent historic changes in the U.S. criminal justice system, encourages reflection, supports dialogue, and suggests steps that visitors can take to help shape the evolution of the American criminal justice system moving forward.
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