Karla Diaz (Artist)

“I designed my shoes thinking of the women who are in prison. My brother is currently serving a life prison sentence here in California. Throughout my year of communication with him, I learned about the experience of men in jail. However, my interest has always been in empowering women’s voices. 

Last year, I got to teach a workshop with women incarcerated in Chino facilitated by the Prison Arts Collective. These shoes are inspired by the women and our conversations. The shoes are named “Freedom Con Shoes” has a double meaning. I took it from a woman in Chino’s Prison. Her knowledge of English was limited and we spoke mainly in Spanish. When I asked her about her favorite shoes, she said “Freedom Con (with in Spanish) Shoes.” But “Con” also means convict. 

The shoes are Pink because it’s a color of resistance against the institutionalized prison uniforms given to prisoners. The inside is painted a pink that glows in the dark to light the way of the person that wears it. The soles inside include a map of all of the prisons in California. On the side of the shoes, I have embroidered the images of two of the women I worked with in Chino and their hands breaking their handcuffs. This symbolizes freedom. I chose to embroider this image as it is usually an intimate method of application, usually passed on from mothers to daughters, to granddaughters. This is how I learned to use embroidery—to embroider my family’s narratives.”