Paper and Memory with the People's Paper Co-op

The People’s Paper Co-op is a women led, women focused, women powered art and advocacy project at the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia. The PPC looks to women in reentry as the leading criminal justice experts our society needs to hear from and uses art to amplify their stories, dreams, and visions for a more just and free world. 

Since 2018, the People’s Paper Co-op has collaborated with the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund on their annual Mama's Day Bail Out campaign. Each year they organize exhibitions, billboards and public art installations, parades, press conferences, and events to raise awareness and funds for the campaign, while sharing the stories, dreams, and demands of formerly incarcerated women with tens of thousands of Philadelphians.  Their poster and t-shirt sales have raised over $225,000 to free Black mothers and caregivers for Mother’s Day. 

Their work has been exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Art and Industries Smithsonian Museum, Philadelphia City Hall, and many galleries, universities, and public spaces. Their work is part of the permanent collections of museums, libraries, and universities across the country including Amherst College, University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), University of Illinois, Chicago, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Carnegie Mellon, Temple University and many others.