Tag: Prison Creative Arts Project

REVIEW: 28th Annual Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons

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[Title photo: Kings Gambit by Marte’nez Sr.; Acrylic]

The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) is an initiative through the Residential College at The University of Michigan with a mission dedicated to bringing those impacted by the justice system to the U-M community for artistic collaboration, mutual learning, and growth. The program hosts a variety of workshops in visual art, theater, choral music, photography, and more. The Duderstadt Gallery is hosting an exhibition of a year-long collaboration with PCAP featuring art by incarcerated artists.

To produce the gallery, the PCAP community visited 24 adult prisons throughout the state of Michigan to handpick the selection of art being presented. During their visits, the volunteers review artwork and have the opportunity to discuss and exchange insights with artists, fostering a profound understanding of the intent behind each distinctive piece.

[30 Animal Granny Square Blanket by Douglas Bail]

The gallery intrigued me with the inherent individuality behind each piece. There were paintings, pencil drawings, sewn creations and figurines—and more! There was truly a collection of artistic mediums and untold stories.

[Boxed In by THE TEXAN; Acrylic, Canvas]

The gallery is open until April 3rd, and the hours of operation are listed below. Much of the art is for purchase at a variety of price ranges, from $35 to well over $500. There are many resources located at the gallery with ways to get involved with PCAP and other community and outreach groups in Michigan at the University and beyond. I left the gallery with the quote from the welcome guide ruminating through my mind:

“Art has truly saved my life. It has broght light in a place designed to keep us in the dark. It allows us to tell our story, or express how we feel not having to say a word. Art gives voivce to the voiceless…”   —DaJuan

 

 

Gallery Hours:

Sun & Mon 12PM – 6PM

Tues – Sat 10AM – 8PM

 

More about PCAP here.

 

 

 

 

[Piano Jewelry Box with Drawer & Bench by Kimmy L. Emig; Wood]

REVIEW: The Prison Creative Arts Project Gallery Show

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The Duderstadt Gallery on North campus recently featured the art of prisoners from around the area who engaged in 2D work in pencil, paints, and other mixed media, to even 3D sculpture work. The art show itself is an annual event recognized nationally. The show has featured in the past over 500 pieces of art and around 250 participating artists. The art work features those both in and out of the prison system, or those who have connections to the prison or criminal justice system.

This year’s art show was up from March 25-April 8. The work was on a more prolific scale than I thought coming in. Art work was installed from floor to ceiling, and skill levels were on a similarly large scale. Something that stood out to me was that members of PCAP would come and engage in workshops with prisoners but all supplies for the art had to come from the artist themselves. Without any precedent except for a call for submissions, the content of the art ranged from scenes of prison life, to more abstract images, to mythologically-based images. Many of the 2D works featured faces, either portraits or faces of other people.

I was also surprised that most of the art had the little red dot sticker indicating that the piece had sold. Prices ranged anywhere from in the $40 range to $400. Not only was there a red sticker, but a yellow sticker indicated a communication or letter had been written to the artist by someone either interested in purchasing the art or simply interested in giving feedback on the work. I thought that this was the most unique part of the show. It opened a form of communication between artist and viewer that normally doesn’t occur, in a gallery setting but also between prisoner and non-prisoner.

Leaving the event I looked up more information on the PCAP website. As a result of this engagement with prisoners, the amount of art made in Michigan prisons has greatly increased, and sometimes prisoners are engaging with fellow inmates to encourage art-making. I found the show to be a really eye-opening experience to just how much talent there is outside of formal art education, and how great an opportunity something like the PCAP art show provides for viewers but also the artists as well.