In 2020, we reached out to artist jackie sumell to bring the Solitary Gardens Project to Charlottesville. “The Solitary Gardens utilize the tools of prison abolition, permaculture, contemplative practices, and transformative justice to facilitate exchanges between persons subjected to solitary confinement and volunteer proxies on the “outside.” The beds are gardened by people who are imprisoned, known as Solitary Gardeners, through written exchanges with those who tend the gardens on the “outside”, growing calendars and design templates. Each Solitary Garden is designed with the same dimensions and features of a solitary confinement cell.

In early 2021, four Solitary Garden Beds were created in collaboration with many artists from VR and Darrell Morris, a family friend of our Co-Director, Kendall King: “Darrell wanted tomatoes, okra, and peppers in his bed. Some of my favorite veggies too, which was cool. Darrell is incarcerated in Oklahoma, and spent many years in solitary confinement as the prison simultaneously denied him access to medical care for a deteriorating and painful hip issue.” You can read more about our first season with the Solitary Gardens Project here.

Special thank you to Charlie Lambert, who led the design and construction of the project, as well as Sophie Gibson, Liz Zhang, David Joo, Ben Cunningham, Stuart Howe, Daisy Dee, Matt Dhillon, Léo Zhang, Abreale Hopkins, and many, many more!

We are always looking for extra hands to write to our penpals, and the Community Garden also appreciates support. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Studio@visible-records.com, or visit the Common Field Instagram Page for recent updates and opportunities to engage.

 jackie sumell Artist in Residence, September 2022

In September 2022, jackie sumell, creator of the Solitary Garden’s project, was Visible Records’ Visiting Artist in Residence.
During her residency, jackie gave an Artist Talk, participated in our monthly Prisoner Letter Writing Night, hosted an Abolitionist Tea Party, and collaborated with local BIPOC foragers on a fire-cider making workshop.

You can watch jackie’s Artist Talk below, and view pictures from the many events that jackie supported and hosted during her residency.