We invite you to a day of performances, conversations, and community uplift at Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos in celebration of the opening of two Visualizing Abolition exhibitions: Visions From Within: Women of Resilience, a new exhibition of art and poetry curated by Elizabeth Lozano and Anthony Alejandrez for the Visualizing Abolition Transition Fellowship Program, and Elevar la Cultura, a 22-foot public sculpture by artist and two-time Right of Return Fellow Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez. The opening will feature panel discussions by formerly-incarcerated artists and organizers, remarks by Victor Quiñonez, lowriders, live entertainment, free food, and more.

Schedule of Events
2:00 Celebration begins w/ FREE food and paletas, vendors, lowriders
3:00 Performance: Mexica dancing by Kalpulli Izkalli
3:20 Remarks: Nane Alejandrez, Founding Director, SC Barrios Unidos
3:30 Panel Discussion: Creative Resilience Inside and Out, moderated by Gina Dent, Co-Director, Visualizing Abolition, and featuring Elizabeth Lozano, Dolores Canales, and Karina Poncio
4:30 Conversation: Building Community and Resistance: Elevar la Cultura with Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez and Anthony Alejandrez

About the Exhibitions:
Visions From Within: Women of Resilience is curated by Elizabeth Lozano and Anthony Alejandrez for the Visualizing Abolition Transition Fellowship Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The exhibition features newly-commissioned paintings, drawings, and works in other media by people currently incarcerated in the two women’s facilities in California, Central California Facility for Women and California Institute for Women. The artists included in the show differently illuminate how they cultivate resilience—maintaining a sense of self and purpose—in circumstances designed to perpetuate harm.

Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez: Elevar la Cultura is an immersive sculptural installation featuring a twenty-two-foot-tall pyramid built from ice coolers and adorned with ancestral textiles, sacred symbols, and mural work. Originally commissioned by The Shed, New York City, the sculpture epitomizes the contradictions of living—and laboring—as an immigrant in the United States. Both a monument and an offering, Elevar la Cultura fuses street aesthetics, ancestral iconography, and contemporary storytelling into a powerful visual language that uplifts the voices too often left out of mainstream narratives.

About the Performers/ Speakers
Kalpulli Izkalli, located in Los Banos, is a grass roots, intergenerational, action and resource group formed to transform the health and environment of our community. Through community gatherings, healing circles, and cultural events, Kalpulli Izkalli promotes healing and justice through the celebration of cultura.

Nane Alejandrez is a nationally-recognized organizer, prison abolitionist, restorative justice practitioner, and founder of Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, one of California’s most respected organizations serving youth, families, incarcerated people, and communities most impacted by poverty and violence. For nearly five decades, he has helped shape community-based alternatives to violence, incarceration, and systemic injustice by centering healing, culture, and human dignity.

Gina Dent is a renowned scholar of abolition feminism and Principal Investigator and Co-Director of Visualizing Abolition, a multidisciplinary project—involving exhibitions, events, fellowships, and academic programs—addressing the global crisis of incarceration through art and visual culture. She is Professor of Humanities and Faculty Director of the Institute of the Arts & Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Elizabeth Lozano is Assistant Director of Inside Initiatives for the Visualizing Abolition program at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Program Coordinator for Inside Membership with Initiate Justice. Drawing from her experiences navigating the complexities of the legal system for more that 30 years, and her deep understanding of its impact on individuals, families, and communities, Lozano is also the co-founder of the Juvenile Offenders Committee, which advocates for redemptive programming, restorative justice, and meaningful opportunities for young people involved in the legal system.

Dolores Canales is an activist, organizer, and the Director of Community Outreach for The Bail Project. She also has roles with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Orangewood Children’s Foundation, and is a founding member of Unlock The Box and California Families Against Solitary Confinement.

Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is a visual artist working at the intersections of contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion and design, and art activism. His work is inspired by the empowerment of marginalized communities and the fight for representation. He is a Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize winner (2025) and a Right of Return and Art for Justice Fellow (2023, 2024), using his platform to amplify narratives around immigration, incarceration, and identity.

Anthony Alejandrez is the Visualizing Abolition Transitions Program Coordinator at University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as Director and Curator of Visions From Within, a project designed to elevate the creative practices of people inside. He works with those that are currently incarcerated and those that are newly released, supporting them with resources, volunteer opportunities, and work in the art space.

FREE and open to the public.