Guantánamo Detainees Ask Biden to Let Them Keep Their Art
Smithsonian Magazine, October 18, 2022: Guantánamo Detainees Ask Biden to Let Them Keep Their Art
“In an open letter, eight former and current detainees at Guantánamo Bay are asking President Biden to free their art. They hope to reverse a Trump-era regulation that says artwork made in the prison is the property of the United States government—and that it can be held in Guantánamo or destroyed as officials sees fit.
“The letter, first reported by Hyperallergic’s Jasmine Liu, is signed by six former detainees and two who have been cleared for release, as well as prominent artists and activists.
“‘Art from Guantánamo became part of our lives and of who we are. It was born from the ordeal we lived through,’ they write. ‘Our artworks are parts of ourselves. We are still not free while parts of us are still imprisoned at Guantánamo.’
“Detainees have been making art at Guantánamo for a long time, sometimes starting ‘almost as soon as they arrive,’ according to Art From Guantánamo Bay, which houses photos of the artwork and information on past and present exhibitions. In the years before the prisoners had access to proper materials, they made art using the objects at hand: They carved patterns into Styrofoam cups, painted with tea powder and soap, and used toilet paper or the walls as canvases.”
Additional reading:
Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations: Chicago to Guantánamo
