WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art presents “Breaking Down Walls: Art as a Portal for the Incarcerated,” an exhibition that showcases two separate prison art projects led by nationally acclaimed artists Lily Yeh (b. 1941) and Emanuel Martinez (b. 1947). The exhibition highlights the role of the arts in creating transformative experiences for inmates and their communities. It will be on view Sept. 5–Jan. 18, 2026, in the Fleischman Gallery at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, D.C.

“Breaking Down Walls” features approximately 50 objects, including correspondence with inmates, documentary footage of artmaking, personal writings, photographs, scrapbooks, exhibition flyers and original works of art from the collections of Martinez and Yeh. It focuses on two prison art projects: the Emanuel Project and the Graterford Prison Project.

In 1986, Yeh founded the Village of the Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia, whose mission is to build community with youth through neighborhood revitalization. Many Village participants’ families and friends were imprisoned at Graterford Prison, a state correctional institution near Philadelphia. Yeh redefined her understanding of the community to include inmates imprisoned there. She established the Graterford Prison Project with artists Gerry Givnish and Glenn Holsten in 1998 to facilitate dialogue between the community and Graterford through visual and performance arts workshops. The project culminated in “Unimaginable Isolation,” a multi-sited exhibition featuring works of art and creative writing by inmates.

Born in Denver, Martinez’s career began with his participation in the Chicano Movement, a social and political movement beginning in the late 1960s. As a young artist, Martinez recognized the importance of creating a visual language for the economically and socially disenfranchised. He incorporated these symbols in murals he painted in Denver. Martinez invited neighborhood youth to paint with him, hoping to convey a sense of pride and belonging for their home. As a formerly incarcerated youth, Martinez recognized the positive impact of this participatory model for at-risk youth, and in 2009, he created the Emanuel Project to create murals in juvenile detention centers around the nation.

“Breaking Down Walls” is arranged into four sections: the development of Martinez and Yeh’s art practice, the process of working in carceral facilities, the Graterford Prison Project and the Emanuel Project.