Vera Institute was expanding its work with correctional agencies across the country, making its annual convening a critical opportunity to strengthen relationships with current government partners, engage prospective ones, and demonstrate impact to funders. The challenge was to move beyond a traditional conference experience and create something that could build trust, encourage reflection, and inspire support for a different vision of prison reform.
At the center of that challenge was a difficult conversation. Meaningful reform required confronting the history of mass incarceration while introducing new models from around the world in a way that invited curiosity rather than defensiveness. The experience needed to meet public officials where they were and create space for genuine engagement.
On a tight budget, I conceived, designed, and built The Past Is Present, an immersive pop-up exhibition that transformed the conference atrium into part of the learning experience. Rather than relying solely on panels and workshops, the exhibit invited attendees to engage with the material at their own pace through documentary photography, historical storytelling, and international examples of correctional reform. I photographed prisons across the United States, Germany, and Norway, using those images to make different approaches to incarceration tangible and relatable.
I worked with metal workers based in New Orleans to turning a transitional space at a conference center into an experience for reflection and conversation. The exhibit helped recognize the work of existing government partners while giving prospective jurisdictions and funders a compelling vision for what reform could look like.
The exhibit became one of the conference's central gathering spaces, creating opportunities for reflection and conversation among correctional leaders from across the country, with wardens and administrators in attendance from across the country thanking us for providing that experience for them. Beyond recognizing existing government partners, it helped demonstrate the value of Vera's approach to prospective jurisdictions and funders. Following the conference, Vera secured a multi-million-dollar grant, with the exhibit recognized internally as an important part of communicating the organization's impact and future vision.
Jonas Richter (Creative Direction), Clara Neumann (Design Direction), Leon Weber (Art Direction), Mia Fischer (UX/UI Design), Daniel Vogt (Copywriting).