Miami artist billboard project puts justice in the spotlight

The justice-minded non-profit Art at a Time Like This launched the latest iteration of its “8 X 5” initiative, a public art intervention that references the dimensions of a prison cell, just in time for Miami Art Week. Five artists selected from an open call will have their work featured alongside established figures, whose art engages with the American prison system, including the Guerilla Girls, Glenn Kaino and Dread Scott.

The group will activate text-based works displayed on billboards and mobile trucks in prominent parts of the city until 3 December, plus static billboards in Little Havana and downtown Miami, raising awareness about incarceration in Florida and the US at large. While the US only accounts for 4.2% of the world’s population, it represents more than 20% of the world’s prisoners, and Black people are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white people across the country. As of last year, only three of the 701 US federal criminal cases tried in South Florida were found not guilty.