“Sable Elyse Smith: Turn Things Over”
New Art21 Film to Premiere August 5, 2026
Artist Sable Elyse Smith transforms the materials of the prison-industrial complex to interrogate the violence it sustains.
New York, New York—August 3, 2026—Art21 announced the premiere of “Sable Elyse Smith: Turn Things Over,” a new documentary film. From her New Jersey studio and BOFFO Fire Island Pines residency to a career-spanning exhibition at The Contemporary Austin, this short follows Smith as she transforms the language and materials of institutional power structures, such as the carceral system, into art that highlights systemic harms.
Directed by Crystal Kayiza, the film premieres Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 12 pm ET on Art21.org and YouTube.
Across her practice, Sable Elyse Smith explores how violence is embedded in built environments, social relations, and linguistic structures. The artist reuses and misuses materials, particularly those drawn from the prison-industrial complex, to create a body of work that questions how specific narratives are constructed, internalized, and repeated.
“I stumbled upon the world of art, but always had a desire to think critically and then find ways to put that information back out into the world,” Smith explains. “My impulse is to make and turn things over and use materials [and] images to process the world and communicate.”
Download high-resolution images.
Art21’s Extended Play digital series provides unmediated, behind-the-scenes access to today’s leading artists. Through process-revealing footage and intimate interviews, these curatorially driven films chronicle a diverse scale of international projects, ranging from major commissions to exploratory sketches. Produced in close collaboration with artists, Extended Play uncovers provocative ideas, timely cultural influences, and biographical anecdotes that inspire the artists featured throughout the series.
Extended Play is made possible with support from the Art21 Contemporary Council, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Hedy Fischer and Randy Shull, the Every Page Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the Henry Nias Foundation.
About Art21
As the leading independent producer documenting the art of our time, Art21 was established with a mission to expand access to artists and their ideas, meet audiences where they are, and explore connections between artists and their communities. To date, Art21 has created 85+ hours of films documenting over 300 artists across six continents. For more information, visit Art21.org.
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For an advance screening or to learn more, email Art21 Associate Director of Communications, Hannah DeGarmo, at hannah@art21.org.