Jose Luis Benavides: Letters to Lost Loved Ones

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Letters to Lost Loved Ones (digital video, 17 min, 2022) was directed, produced, and edited by Jose Luis Benavides, who has also served as project manager with the Illinois Deaths in Custody Project (IDCP) since 2016. As an exhibition and documentary, it shares a history of medical treatment of incarcerated people and larger concerns with the effects of the COVID-19 virus on vulnerable populations within Illinois prisons. Newcity newspaper’s art critic Regan Dockery describes, “Benavides’ “Letters to Lost Loved Ones” requires perhaps more than all a careful and active viewing. On display are letters featured in his documentary short of the same title. The letters tell the stories and experiences of those incarcerated during COVID-19 and shed light on voices that are often overlooked.”