Performances by Illinois prisoners explore domestic violence — and the public is given rare chance to see behind prison walls

For years, incarcerated women in Illinois have gathered to share spoken-word performances, songs and theater presentations to express painful histories of surviving sexual and domestic abuse.

Those who have participated said the experience was powerful and transformational, helping inmates understand they were not alone and that their experiences mattered.

But they were shared only inside the institutions where the women were held.

Last week for the first time, some 20 inmates at Logan Correctional Center near Lincoln, Illinois, were allowed to share a collection of stories and poetry and dance with the public in a virtual release of “Look at Me,” a show written and directed by them.

“We appreciate you guys supporting us,” one inmate, Erika Ray, said to an online audience as the program began to stream. “This is a way to connect us back to our humanity. Incarceration strips you of that. Whether you know it or not, you guys are almost painting our humanity back on us.”

The taped performance included works by 21 women and one transgender male that were filmed at