Photo Exhibit at Newark Library Chronicles Prison Hospice Program

Photographs by Lori Waselchuk, award-winning documentary photographer and arts activist, and quilts by incarcerated hospice volunteers at Louisiana State Penitentiary are on display in the “Grace Before Dying” traveling exhibit running through Dec. 7 at the Newark Public Library, 5 Washington St.  The free exhibit is sponsored by the Ethics Committee of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) School of Nursing in collaboration with the library.
 
The exhibit tells the story of prisoners in Louisiana's Angola Penitentiary and how their hospice program--run by one staff nurse and a team of inmate volunteers-- is helping to transform one of the nation’s most dangerous maximum security prisons into one of the least violent. The program at Angola is also documented in the book, also entitled Grace Before Dying, which contains photographs by Waselchuk and essays by Lawrence N. Powell.
 
A closing reception will be held Friday, Dec. 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the library and will feature a presentation and book signing by Waselchuk, with copies of the book available for sale. Light refreshments will be served at the reception, which is free and open to the public.

For more information visit sn.umdnj.edu/events or contact the library at rsvp@npl.org or at 973-733-7793
 
Exhibits and exhibit-related programs are free and open to the general public during regular library hours, Monday to Saturday 9 am to 5:30 pm.; and Wednesday evenings to 8:30 p.m.  For more information about the library, visit www.npl.org.