The Warehouse
April 4-June 28, 2026
Bedford Library in NYC
About The Warehouse
Open April 4th-June 28th, The Warehouse is a collaboration between artist and writer Vic Liu, Interrupting Criminalization co-founder Mariame Kaba, and the Brooklyn Public Library. With a full-branch exhibition takeover, the project transforms the library into a space for public imagination and learning, inviting patrons of all ages to explore what a world beyond incarceration could look like.
The Warehouse is a site-specific installation expanding upon Liu’s book The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Incarceration, co-written with James Kilgore. The library will be covered with more than two dozen new, full-scale paintings by Vic that examine resistance and survival inside prisons; the emotional and political distance between “inside” and “outside;” and what abolition might look like in practice. The exhibition is spatially divided into two sections:
The Children's Wing will include visual work and information design imagining abolition on the outside: care, safety, and accountability beyond punishment.
The Adult Wing will feature histories and practices of resistance on the inside, grounded in lived experience and collective struggle.
The exhibition runs through June 28 and is open to visit when the library is. Extensive programming will accompany the exhibition.
Check out the exhibition website for other programs and for more information.
A Few Featured Events
A series of free public programs will accompany the exhibition at Bedford Library, including conversations, workshops, and community gatherings. Below, we’ve highlighted a few that we want to point folks to. Please check out the exhibition website for more information and the full list of events!
Come envision a world without incarceration, where care, safety, and accountability can exist beyond punishment.
Saturday, April 4 | 1:30-4:30 PM
Opening Event: Panel, Music, & First Walk-throughThe Warehouse opens with a live panel exploring incarceration and abolition through art and organizing, featuring Rachel Herzing, James Kilgore, and Vic Liu, followed by music and a first walk-through of the exhibition. Register HERE
Saturday, April 18 | 2:00-4:00 PM
Jail Support 101 Workshop with Parissah Lin | AdultAbolitionist organizer Parissah Lin leads a practical workshop on how to support people who have been arrested and how to build community-based jail support networks. Sign up HERE.
Saturday, May 16
Talking to Children about Incarceration with Mariame Kaba | Adult/TeenMariame Kaba leads two practical workshops offering parents, caregivers, and educators tools for discussing incarceration and justice with children.
1:00-2:30 PM: Things I Wish I’d Said To My Children: A Workshop for Formerly Incarcerated Parents — Sign up HERE
3:00-4:30 PM: Talking with Children About Incarceration — Sign up HERESaturday, June 27 | 11:00 AM — 4:00 PM
Abolitionist Fair: Closing Community Celebration | All AgesThe Warehouse closes with a community fair featuring art, music, and tabling from abolitionist organizations including VOCAL-NY, RAPP, Parole Prep Project, and NYC Books Through Bars, alongside a market of goods made and sold by formerly incarcerated people. Sign up HERE
Read More About The Warehouse
Check out this conversation between James Kilgore and Vic Liu, on their collaborative book The Warehouse: A Visual Primer on Mass Incarceration, the exhibition, and their approaches and creative processes for developing materials informed by abolition, lived experience, and creativity. Read “Visuals Help Expose the Realities of Mass Incarceration to a Wider Audience” in Truthout.
Vic answers some questions about the exhibition on Mariame Kaba’s blog, Prisons, Prose & Protest.
Check out some of the recent media coverage about the exhibition:
