Art Restart Podcast: Sherrill Roland

A black and white headshot of Sherrill RolandWhen artist Sherrill Roland returned to grad school at University of North Carolina at Greensboro after nearly a year in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, he found himself haunted by the invisible weight of his experience.

Determined to confront how incarceration had reshaped his body, psyche and place in the world, he turned that burden into "The Jumpsuit Project," a performance in which he wore an orange prison uniform on campus every day for a year.

In this interview, Roland speaks about the fear and necessity of donning the orange jumpsuit, the emotional toll of transforming personal pain into public conversation, and how his practice continues to evolve toward accessibility, dialogue and compassion.

Listen to Sherrill's Episode

The Art Restart podcast is hosted by Pier Carlo Talenti and is produced by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.