More Beautiful, More Terrible: Humans of Life Row is a counter narrative, a sustained act of resistance, an exhibition that reveals the intimate experiences, transformative ideas, and beautiful dreams of people facing the stark realities of life and de facto life sentencing in Illinois. These sentences are commonly described as death by incarceration because they condemn people to confinement until their death. Nevertheless, as contributing artist, Reginald BoClair, states, “Though sentenced to die in prison, we are alive.”

Through personal narratives, artistic expressions, compelling installations, and poetic verse, this exhibition shines a light on the people who inhabit 'life row.'

The U of I exhibition features select works from the original Chicago exhibition along with artistic works and programming from Project 9161— an initiative led by Dr. Rachel McMillian in the College of Education (UIUC) that explores the world of Afrofuturism, visionary narratives, and abolition through the lenses of Black system-impacted scholars.

More Beautiful, More Terrible was originally created by the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project's Think Tank (at Stateville Prison) and the Beyond Prisons Initiative in 2023-2024. It was co-curated and co-organized by Alice Kim and Aaron Hughes.