Archives is a Sacred Word

Texas After Violence Project is excited to announce Archives is a Sacred Word, an art exhibit sharing the memory work of artistic collaborators at Travis County Correctional Complex.

The artwork showcased for Archives is a Sacred Word was created over the course of six workshops facilitated by TAVP’s archives and programming staff at the county jail in the spring of 2024. Archives is a Sacred Word invites the public to engage with the same questions as artistic collaborators over the course of six workshops, questions like: What is a document? What is memory? What is the value of storytelling?

The exhibit also encourages attendees to go one step further: To acknowledge the creative contributions of those currently incarcerated, to ask what our responsibility is to care for their memories and stories, and to commit to an ongoing exploration and conversation on both the inside and outside of what these questions can mean.

Archives is a Sacred Word invites us all to ask what we hold sacred — and how we can honor it across enforced separation.

OPENING – August 30th, 6-9 p.m.
Gallery Open – August 31st, 12-6 p.m.

This project has been financed in whole by the City of Austin’s Elevate Grant Program.