Art Exhibit: “Becoming Free” Saturday, May 25, Opening Reception from 7pm-10pm Suggested donation $10-20 at the doorArt for sale! Presented by the Justice Arts Coalition The opening reception kicks off a month-long exhibit of works by incarcerated artists, running May 25-June 22, 2019. The event will include works by artwork by Tomás, Will Livingston, Carole …

Continue reading Please join us in DC to celebrate the opening of our first exhibition!

by Tomás I find it incredibly difficult to describe what it is like being an artist in prison. There are so many physically and emotionally conflicting paradoxes at play. If I were never imprisoned, I would have, most likely, never taken the time to explore the artist aspect of myself. On the other hand, my …

Continue reading Becoming Whole: the Joy of Creation

Innerworld Publications San German, Puerto Rico Iowa City-based writer Andy Douglas’s new book, “Redemption Songs: A Year in the Life of a Community Prison Choir”, was released on April 1, 2019. For six years, the author volunteered with the Oakdale Community Choir, a performing chorale composed of both volunteers and inmates and directed by University …

Continue reading REDEMPTION SONGS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A COMMUNITY PRISON CHOIR – Book Release

Dear PAC Community, I’m excited to share some big news with you! Over the coming months, the Prison Arts Coalition will undergo a transformation to incorporate as the Justice Arts Coalition (JAC), a 501c3 nonprofit organization. In the spirit of the vision that drove PAC’s founders, the JAC will become an organizing body for institutions …

Continue reading An important message from PAC’s manager — please read on!

California Lawyers for the Arts and the William James Association in collaboration with Santa Clara University and the Justice Arts Coalition presents Arts in Corrections: Reframing the Landscape of Justice June 24 – 28, 2019 Santa Clara University 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053 This national conference will provide professional development opportunities for artists …

Continue reading Conference Announcement: Reframing the Landscape of Justice

by Peggy Rambach Address for the HOC Mural Project Unveiling Celebration with MIT at the Suffolk County House of Correction Feb. 15, 2019 Lately, we’ve all been hearing a lot about walls – whether we like it or not. And as a result, we can’t help thinking about what a wall represents: division, protection, confinement …

Continue reading “We, the Unbound”

by Rosie Worster, Director of Programmes at The Fair Justice Initiative Nsawam Medium Security Prison is the largest in Ghana, located not far outside the capital of Accra. It is a place associated with utmost shame, particularly for the eighty or so women held in the female section. Crime is thought dirty, ungodly, unfeminine. Many …

Continue reading Remember Me

by Treacy Ziegler  (This is the second installment on kindness in prison.  The first installment can be read at Incarceration of Kindness.) On my first trip to the super-maximum security prison, I see a high stonewall building perched over distant trees. There is something surreal in the sight of this fortress-like building with its small …

Continue reading Kindness as Hostage