Dayo's Reflection on the 2022 Calendar

One of the highlights of my undergraduate journey will be my participation in the Humans of Life Row (HOLR) project, a collaboration between the Human Rights Lab and the Race, Politics and Culture Think Tank at Stateville Prison facilitated by the Prison+Neighborhood Arts/Education Project. My biggest takeaway from the experience is learning for myself how art can truly tell stories in a way that can’t be articulated in words alone. My efforts to help develop the HOLR Calendar was no exception. Calendars by definition chart a specified period of time, and for me, creating the HOLR calendar was my commentary on time. 2022 is the time for us to reimagine our criminal legal system. It is the time for us to adhere to the wisdoms of Think Tank members Rodney Love and Carlvosier Smith, and all the men in the Think Tank who helped to bring the works to life. It is time to think critically about how we will use the pages of the calendar to track our days of care and compassion, especially for those who are not afforded the same luxuries of time that we are afforded on the outside. I am incredibly thankful for the Humans of Life Row team, the PNAP Think Tank, and especially Noelle Petrowski's artistic talents for being such a light in my life.