Planting Justice team members just got back from a trip to New Orleans where they met with artist Jackie Sumell and the team at The Solitary Gardens (@solitarygardens). The Solitary Gardens is an inspirational art project in New Orleans, LA inspired by Jackie's collaboration with political prisoner Herman Wallace. From their website:
"The Solitary Gardens, turns solitary confinement cells into garden beds that are the same size and blue-print as the cell Herman, and so many others spend decades in. The contents (plants, flowers and herbs) of the prison-cell-turned-garden-bed are designed by prisoners serving their sentences in isolation through proxies on the outside. Central to this project is a call to end the inhumane conditions of solitary confinement, simultaneously inspiring compassion necessary to dismantle systems of punishment and control.
PJ staff also had the opportunity to learn from Cedar in the Abolitionist Apothecary (check out her work at The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts right now!), and talk about their newest project honoring the legacy of Louisiana’s incarcerated abolitionists who have mapped a future toward Abolition and Beyond! Learn more about the Abolitionist Apothecary, and their work to reimagine our relationship to wellness and what healing means and looks like here.
As Planting Justice expands and develops in 2025 and beyond, we are hoping to strengthen our work in creative partnerships with incredible projects like Solitary Gardens and the Abolitionist Apothecary. Thank you for having us and generously sharing about what’s possible when art, plants and abolitionists dream through prison walls for 20 years! | 
