New Orleans, Louisiana (USA) 2020
Small Center for Collaborative Design, Tulane University, USA
This project is part of an ongoing effort to expand design access across our community,
improve the design process, and prepare a new generation of architects to create a
more just world.
The Prisoners Apothecarts are two small mobile healing units used by herbalists, artists,
and activists in the New Orleans community. Staff and Volunteers from the Prisoners
Apothecary transform plants grown at Solitary Gardens into medicine for communities
most deeply impacted by mass incarceration. The apothecary produces natural
medicine, tea, tinctures, steams, and salves based on letter-writing conversations they
have with people in solitary confinement. As the medicine is designed by folks who are
incarcerated and distributed to affected communities, incarcerated individuals now have
a unique opportunity to heal the communities they are often accused of harming. Mobile
carts, or “apothecarts,” are a way to further mobilize and distribute the apothecary’s
wares while educating the public on the issues of criminal justice reform and abolition.
The Apothecarts are designed to be durable on the streets of New Orleans, functional for
the herbalists operating the carts, and appealing to the general public who want to
approach the carts and thus start a conversation.
Collaborators: Solitary Gardens/Prisoner’s Apothecarts, Resurrection After Exoneration, Samara School of Community Herbalism.
Tutors: Emilie Taylor Welty (Design Lead); Nick Jenisch (Project Manager).
Students: Elizabeth Bateman; Jeremy Baudy; Anna Deeg; Claire Divito; Rebecca Dunn; Adrian Evans; Danelle Martin; Danielle Scheeringa; Bhumika Shirole; Zach Speroni; James Rennert; Dana Ridenour.
Research question: How can design address larger questions in our society? More specifically, how can a small project spark conversations and awareness around criminal justice reform?
Links: https://small.tulane.edu/project/apothecarts/
Small Center for Collaborative Design
+, 11-50, Architecture, Client-funded, Collaboration, Curricular, Graduates, Months, Students with tutor, Temporary, Tulane University, Undergraduate, USA