Description
Inside the Sacramento County Juvenile Detention Center, a release lobby is the point of transition for young men and women who are leaving the center and embarking on a new journey to the outside world. This moment of transition was the inspiration for “Transitions and Pathways #1,” a work meant to inspire these young people at this point of transition to choose the best path forward for their lives.
The inspiration for the project came from a satellite image of Sacramento and a top-level view of the various roads and pathways that lead away from the Detention Center. The various streets and pathways represent the many options that the young men and women leaving the center have available to them, and that the decisions they make from that point are their own.
The 16’ x 18’ piece consists of polycarbonate acrylic glass panels with gold leaf and paint. The colors were carefully chosen to evoke a sense of inspiration and new beginning. The piece was so successful with the staff members of the Detention Center that two additional works were requested for the interior staff corridors. These two smaller pieces echo the original, sharing the same materials but with variations in theme and color. The Sacramento Juvenile Detention Center was not without challenges, but in the end it was also one of the most rewarding projects to work on as we presented this gift of inspiration to the youths in that exact moment of transition into their new lives.