Gary Tyler

For over four decades, Gary Tyler has worked at the intersection of art and social justice. After enduring nearly 42 years wrongfully imprisoned at Angola State Penitentiary, Tyler uses his textile-based practice to highlight issues of mass incarceration, instilling messages of hope and resilience.

Tyler first learned to quilt to support the Angola Prison Hospice program, where he was a volunteer. Notably, Tyler was the President of the Angola Prison drama program for almost three decades, using the position to promote a culture of community, civic responsibility and introspection.

Material, symbolism, and quilting traditions are central to Tyler’s work. Since his release in 2016, Tyler’s appliqué quilts feature motifs of transformation, self-portraits and intricate allegorical landscapes, depicting memories of his time incarcerated, including the legendary Angola Rodeo and his time as president of the drama program. Through his work, Tyler honors the lives of those depicted and creates a dialogue around the lasting impact of mass incarceration and its roots in slavery, with the hope of inspiring meaningful change.

Gary Tyler is a 2019 and 2020 Art Matters Awardee, and in 2024 he received an honorary Doctorate Degree in Art and Design from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Tyler was awarded the 2024 Right of Return Fellowship by the Center for Art and Advocacy, as well as the Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize, which recognizes an artist who has made a significant impact on society with their work. His work can be seen at the Historical New Orleans Collective Museum in New Orleans, and is in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. as well as the City of Santa Monica’s Art Bank.

Presented in partnership with the Library Street Collective, with support from the Prison Creative Arts Project. The Annual Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons is the largest curated exhibition of art by incarcerated artists in the world and features art from every prison in the state of Michigan. The 29^th Annual Exhibition will run from March 18 through April 1 in the Duderstadt Gallery on the University of Michigan campus. All of the art is for sale and the proceeds of the sales go to the artists themselves.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.

Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.