Freedom in a Cell

Fela Kuti sang to us through the ventilation shaft in our tiny prison cell in Alcatraz. And for a moment, Renee and I let the music take us, and we felt profoundly free.

Then I banged my elbow. 

It was worth it. Everybody should dance whenever they hear Fela Kuti’s music, especially when examining the deep significance of prisons as they relate to free expression, and especially especially when visiting Ai Weiwei’s “Stay Tuned” installation in Cell Block A of the @ Large exhibit at Alcatraz.

Thank you, Lauren Girardin, for documenting. View video on Flickr.