A group of local artists will display artwork made from repurposed prison materials at "The Great Joliet Prison Break-In" event from 5 to 11 p.m.
Aug. 25 at the old Joliet prison on Collins Street.

Since late March, artists have been working with burned wood, charred ash, scrap metal, books, barbed wire, a burned TV and a jail cell door to create artwork for a “Behind the Cell Door” showcase, said Kayla Zigrossi, assistant to visual arts chair Sue Regis.

“A lot of the area of the prison that we were working out of is called the burn district,” Zigrossi said. “The burn district is three buildings that were severely burned.”

Artists include Eryn Blaser, Erik Ohrn, Ruben Calderon, Dave Wheeler, Larry Ciesla, Angie Aguilar, Jeff Benedick, Jeff Conrad, Christine Nordstrom, Terry Eastham and Tony Uzzardo.

Zigrossi said the artists have made visits to the prison multiple times a month since March.

“I know plenty of artists who travel outside of Joliet to feel connected to an art community. ... That’s sad,” Regis said. “We have an amazing group of artists here. I want to bring these artists out.”

One of the artists made a 3D stained-glass piece out of a jail cell door, which Zigrossi said will be 600 to 700 pounds.

“It’s just a super-powerful piece,” Zigrossi said.

Another artist is transforming a burned TV into artwork.

“He’s making it into something crazy and super cool, incorporating “The Blues Brothers” and city history,” Zigrossi said.

Regis said attending the event should be a “no-brainer” for interested community members.

“This is an amazing project,” Regis said. “This prison has so much history to it, and it’s been sitting there for so long, and it gives the public an opportunity to get inside the prison walls.”

Down the road, Zigrossi said the group wants to sell the pieces at an art auction, with proceeds going to the Joliet Area Historical Museum.

“It’s pretty amazing stuff, and we don’t want to miss an opportunity to really be able to leverage the pieces and get the most return on them,” Zigrossi said. “We want to build the hype up and really get people to understand what we’ve been doing.”

Tickets can be bought online at jolietprison.org.