Film Release: Lost and Found
The following is a message from filmmakers at Passion River, who have recently released the film ‘Lost and Found’. Prison arts programs have, since their inception, been used to provide inmates with a more constructive use for their time. Analyses of the benefits of prison arts programs tend to focus, understandably so, on how the …
The American Prison Writing Archive
The following is a message from the Hamilton College Digital Humanities Initiative. The United States holds more prisoners and employs more prison staff than any other nation on earth. But there is no central location where the public, policy makers, students or researchers can benefit from the many years of first-hand experience of prisoners and prison …
Paños created in US prisons spark the passion of exhibitor in France
PAC asked Reno Angelo Leplat-Torti, an artist and curator of exhibitions of Chicano prison art in France, to tell us a bit about himself, how his interest in prison art developed, and what kind of impact his exhibitions are having. My name is Reno Angelo Leplat-Torti. I was born in France, but my family emigrated …
Continue reading Paños created in US prisons spark the passion of exhibitor in France
Thinking “Inside the Box” – a request for practitioners
World Cast Movie seeks prison arts practitioners who see the possibility of including prison performers in its worldwide film project. We have launched an open casting call for actors around the globe to fill the shoes of 12 roles for our film. The initial idea was inspired by the opportunity to give talented actors who …
Continue reading Thinking “Inside the Box” – a request for practitioners
More than Decoration: Art in Juvenile Prisons
By Katy McCarthy About the guest blogger: Katy McCarthy is the blog and media director at http://www.juvenile-in-justice.com. In 2011, she received her Bachelors degree from University of California, Santa Barbara in studio art. When not in her own studio, she is editing and blogging for Juvenile In Justice. Katy can be reached at blogdirector@juvenile-in-justice.com A …
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New Issue of BleakHouse Review Now Available
BleakHouse Publishing is proud to release our annual BleakHouse Review, an online literary magazine that serves as an outlet for original perspectives on the criminal justice system. BleakHouse Publishing devotes itself to the creative voices of the voiceless. You will hear from an array of talented American University students, as well as former inmates and current prisoners. Blending shades of …
Continue reading New Issue of BleakHouse Review Now Available
More from NC Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti
About this post: These pieces will appear in Concertina, Joseph Bathanti‘s forthcoming book of prison-related poems, from Mercer University Press. Bathanti is North Carolina’s Poet Laureate and a professor of creative writing at Appalachian State University, where he is Director of Writing in the Field and Writer-in-Residence in the University’s Watauga Global Community. He has …
New Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings Initiative: Words Unlocked
The Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings’ new project, Words Unlocked, is a month-long initiative that includes practitioner-ready curricular materials, a nationwide competition, and publishing venues for student work. All materials for the initiative are available at our wiki site, Words Unlocked. The wiki has a robust set of tools available for public …
Announcements / Statements / Guides
- How to Photograph Your Incarcerated Loved One’s Artwork
- Introducing JAC’s New Logo
- Announcing JAC’s New Gallery of the Month Series
- JAC needs your support!
- Art Connects Us
- Announcing the launch of the JAC Community Survey!
- An important message from PAC’s manager — please read on!
Artist Spotlights
- Angelica Marie Soto
- Will Livingston
- Gary Harrell
- Spoon Jackson and SaraMarie Bottaro
- Cuong Mike Tran
- Chris Schulze
- Harold Johnson
- Charles Finney
- Lex
- SNAPP
- Troy Glover
- Brian Hindson
- Nhut Vo
- Daniel Martinez
- Derrick Grantley
- Reginald Dwayne Betts
- Jeremiah Murphy
- William Brown
- O.G. Blue
- David Green
- Kenny Collins
- Gary Farlow
- Chad Merrill
- Izuo-Ere Digifa
- Marcus Pettiford
- Kenneth Reams
- Jordan (Jordy) and Douglas Earls
- John Zenc
- Cedar Annenkovna
- Amber Daniel
Teaching Artist / Program Spotlights
- pARTner Project is Inspiring New Creativity
- Kirk Charlton
- Rachel Wallis
- Brian Daldorph
- André de Quadros
- Rowan Renee
- Ann Bracken
- Zoe Boekbinder: Prison Music Project
- Nate Fish: Brick of Gold
- A.B.O. Comix
- Joel Bergner
- Gabriel Ross
- Judy Dworin
- Annie Buckley
- William Head on Stage (WHoS)
- Anderson Smith
- Elia Cadilla
- Sarah Dahnke and Sarah Pope
- Lori Pitts
- Matt Malyon
- Peggy Rambach
- Hakim Bellamy
JAC Community Blogs
- JAC’s 2022 Wrapped
- Day in the Life of a JAC Intern: Jesse’s Monday
- JAC’s 2021 Wrapped
- Steve Davis and Chad Merrill pARTner Project Collaboration
- Day in the Life of a JAC Intern: Joslyn’s Monday
- Community Voices Blog: Staff Art Picks
- JAC’s 2020 Wrapped
- I am From…
- Coronavirus in Prison
- Collaborative Imaginings: the work of Lori Lovely and Kelly Pringle
Guest Blogs
- Leo Cardez – Mr. Crew Cut: An Angel Among Monsters
- Obie Weathers – Pieces
- Dorothy Maraglino – Hours Into Being a Refugee Due to Covid
- Marcus Pettiford – Captivity Without Sunlight
- Conor Broderick – The Challenges of Pursuing Higher Education in Prison
- Dorothy Maraglino –Prison Society
- Dorothy Maraglino – A New Approach to Crime Prevention
- Dorothy Maraglino – Homesick in Prison
- Dorothy Maraglino – A Day in My Box
- Joshua Earls
- Naomi Rachel: The Amazing Nash News
- Chris Trigg
- Annie Buckley: Lines Drawn and Erased
- Annie Buckley: Final Projects
- Annie Buckley: Art and Healing
- Annie Buckley: Oasis in the Desert
- John Zenc: The Boy Who Only Wanted to be Loved
- Chris Trigg: Creativity
- Denise Shumway: The Ohio Prison Arts Connection (OPAC)
- Jameelah Lewis
- Chris Trigg: The Other America
- Ronald McKeithen
- Marcus Pettiford
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of a Master: Canyon Run
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of A Master: Abstract
- Chris Trigg on the state of the arts in federal prisons
- Janie Paul: What we can learn about isolation from prison artists
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of A Master: The Portrait Series #3
- Carole Alden and Arlene Tucker: A Message from Translation is Dialogue
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of A Master: The Portrait Studies #1
- Annabel Manning: My Block.
- Spoon Jackson: To My Big Sis, Judith Tannenbaum, from Spoon Jackson
- Jeremy Sobek: Beginnings
- Guy La”Tron” Banks, a.k.a Tronee Threat
- Mark Andreason: Who is Mark Andreason?
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of a Master, Part 3: Hiatus
- Jennifer E. Tinker: A guest’s reflections on the Iron Cages exhibition
- Michelle Repiso: Oculus: Of A Place Unseen
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of a Master, Part 2: Bohemia
- Treacy Ziegler: Kindness, boundaries, and the border patrol
- Matt Malyon: The Stories We Save May Include Our Own
- Dr. Kevin Shorner-Johnson: Building Musical Imaginations
- R. Zumar: The Becomings of a Master
- Danny Ashton: Not a Prison Artist
- Cynthia Garcia: Hillside High Art Students reach out to incarcerated artist with Artist Trading Cards and motivational messages
- Caitlin Hamilton: Kudos For Memoir About Teaching the Arts in a California Men’s Prison
- John Whitman: copyright empowerment for incarcerated people
- Treacy Ziegler: The Slippery Slope of Kindness
- Tomás: Becoming Whole: the Joy of Creation
- Peggy Rambach: “We, the Unbound”
- Rosie Worster: Remember Me
- Treacy Zeigler: Kindness as Hostage
- Mardie Swartz: As the End Comes (a tribute to Alice Walker)
- Treacy Ziegler: The Incarceration of Kindness – Installment 1
- Mary Cohen: Communities of Caring through Choral Singing: an update from the Oakdale Prison Choir
- Page Dukes: Making Meaning: a caged bird sings
- Treacy Ziegler: Crossing the Border: An artist’s experience of a super-maximum security prison
Events, Exhibitions, and Publications
- I Was a Prisoner, and You Came to Me: Yuri Kadamov
- Sean White’s The River is a Lake
- The Book of Judith
- “Correctional: A Memoir” by Ravi Shankar
- Inside & Out Exhibition Spotlight: Karim Shuquem, Lesley Rae Burdick, and Edee Allynnah
- Inside & Out Exhibition Spotlight: Sandra Miller and Cherie Hacker
- Inside & Out Exhibition Spotlight: David Potwin, Aimee Wissman, and Mary Anna Pomonis
- White Snake Projects: Virtual Opera
- Inside & Out Exhibition Spotlight: Michelle Repiso and Treacy Ziegler
- Celebrating PCAP’s 25th Annual Exhibition
- Inside & Out Musical Launch: Spotlight on Artists BL Shirelle and King Moosa
- Kenneth Reams: Workshop and Art Auction
- Mural Arts Philadelphia’s “Rendering Justice” Exhibition: Spotlight on Featured Artist Michelle Daniel Jones
- “The BOX” Virtual Performance: A Play About Solitary Confinement by Sarah Shourd
- Book Launch – Words After Dark: A Lyrics, Lit & Liquor Anthology
- Upcoming Exhibition: “Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration”
- Upcoming “Art Of Innocence” Event
- Virtual Event 6/27: Refueling for Justice feat. “Art as Release” JAC Artist Panel!
- Workshop Spotlight: A Conversation From Death Row with Kenneth Reams
- The Prison Story Project
- Create + Connect Online Workshop Series!
- Just Art Initiative
- Celebrating a successful opening night…and a video launch!
- Please join us in DC to celebrate the opening of our first exhibition!
- REDEMPTION SONGS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A COMMUNITY PRISON CHOIR – Book Release
- Conference Announcement: Reframing the Landscape of Justice
Reflections from JAC’s Founding Director in Response to Anti-Asian Violence