Media Coverage
Transforming pain into power,
Michele and team's work moves visitors!
Rikers Public Memory Project Exhibit continues until 3/1/2025 at Weeksville Heritage Center.
The “Torture Island” exhibit at Weeksville fits within RPMP’s work to “repair.” In addition to featuring some of the oral histories collected by RPMP, “Torture Island” also includes works by RPMP’s 2024 Narrative Change Community Fellows. Throughout the year, fellows used the project’s oral history collection as source material for a creative project that shifts narratives about Rikers and those New York City communities most impacted by incarceration. Fellows featured in “Torture Island” include documentarian Anisah Sabur Mumin, visual artist Michele Evans, photographer Ofia Begum Ali, and playwright Helen “Skip” Skipper. Click link to view full article. https://prismreports.org/2025/02/18/rikers-island-history-art-exhibition/
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The Rikers Public Memory Project (RPMP) was founded in 2018 to illuminate the lived experiences of individuals most impacted by Rikers Island, mobilize efforts to repair generational harm, and challenge dehumanizing narratives surrounding incarceration. The exhibition features creative works by the 2024 Narrative Change Community Fellows alongside historical context and personal stories about Rikers Island, the active New York City jail complex located in the East River. The 2024 Narrative Change Community Fellows are Anisah Sabur Mumin (documentary), Michele Evans (sculpture), Ofia Begum Ali (photography), and Helen “Skip” Skipper (theater). Click link to view full article. https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2025/02/rikers-island-exhibit-torture/
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Rikers Island Book!
Michele's book Rikers Island featured in the New York Times!
How a Notorious Jail Became a Literary Hotbed
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › rikers-island-authors
Feb 18, 2024 — A woman holding a book titled “Rikers Island.” Behind bars on charges of assaulting her husband, Michele Evans dreamed up 406 pages of romance.
Click link to view full article. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/18/nyregion/rikers-island-authors.html
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Creative Rikers Island inmates writing books to pass the time
The Times
https://www.thetimes.com › world › article › creative-ri...
Feb 20, 2024 — Evans was arrested in 2019 over a domestic violence case in which she says she was acting in self-defence against an abusive partner. Click link to view full article. https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/creative-rikers-island-inmates-writing-books-to-pass-the-time-hfbkdpkzb