New MIAD exhibit puts the spotlight on incarcerated artists

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Art Against the Odds is now open at Milwaukee's Institute of Art and Design (MIAD). The exhibit showcases art created by the men and women in prisons across Wisconsin. 

The art varies from skilled painters using their talents while behind bars to those looking for a form of expression and using the supplies available to them in jail. 

"They really don't have access to much so they use whatever they can. Most often that's a piece of paper and a pencil. So, you'll see a lot of work in the show that's just very realistic pencil drawings, but the artists get incredibly adept at doing it," said co-curator Debra Brehmer "We have artists who have rolled pieces of paper to make a paper building to build sculptures. We have one fellow artist who has created portraits of inmates using junk food wrappers." 

Brehmer says the exhibit goes beyond just viewing art, it humanizes a population that is often forgotten about and disregarded. 

You can see the exhibit, as well as Wig Heavier than a Boot at MIAD until March.