Intro

Given the current climate of limited funding and a punitive corrections mentality, one could mistakenly assume that arts programs in correctional facilities have disappeared.  While arts-in-corrections may not be thriving or as organized in the United States as the field is in other countries like the United Kingdom, individual artists, non-profit organizations and university professors are carving out spaces for innovative and inspiring arts programs in correctional facilities.  Decreased state and federal funding for arts-in-corrections, combined with the 1994 crime bill that abolished Pell Grants for inmates to attend college, could have left a deep chill over arts and humanities programs in correctional facilities.  While these changes in funding left a large artistic and educational gap in many correctional facilities as community colleges were forced to abandon their prison classes, new programs and approaches have developed in an effort to fill this void.1  These emerging arts programs cover the spectrum of artistic disciplines, from the more traditional creative writing workshop to integrated, multidisciplinary arts projects.  They receive funding and other necessary support from a variety of sources, ranging from the government in a few cases to nonprofit organizations to universities.  In spite of their differences, all of these programs provide inmates with the tools and opportunities for artistic expression.

This website provides an overview of arts programs in correctional facilities throughout the United States based on research conducted during fall 2006 and winter 2007.  By no means does this research capture all of the individuals and organizations facilitating the arts in this country’s prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers.  Every week, a new workshop can emerge in a correctional facility as another program disappears; the field is constantly changing and evolving, developments which this site attempts to reflect.  This site highlights the variety of models for arts programming within correctional settings, exploring the diversity within this field and the unique challenges faced in different settings.