Open Letters is a project that will engage Texas communities in dialogue around capital punishment issues by inviting individuals on Texas death row to author open letters to society about the trauma they and their families have experienced post-conviction. The public will be invited to events where the letters will be read and a facilitated structure for response will be provided. Transcripts from the events will later be compiled into a publication for distribution.
Mark Menjivar is an artist and Assistant Professor in the School of Art and Design at Texas State University. He received a BA in Social Work from Baylor University and an MFA in Social Practice from Portland State University. Mark has engaged in projects at venues including the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Artpace, The Houston Center for Photography, The San Antonio Museum of Art, Mexic-Arte Museum, The Puerto Rican Museum of Art and Culture, Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum and the Krannert Art Museum. His work has been featured by Artforum, TED, NPR, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Slate, Good Magazine, The Village Voice, National Geographic, Gastronomica and Orion Magazine.