Prison Creative Arts Project

About

Founded in 1990, The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) is committed to original work in the arts in Michigan correctional facilities, juvenile facilities, urban high schools, and communities across the state. Our process is guided by respect and a spirit of collaboration in which vulnerability, risk and improvisation lead to discovery. We make possible the spaces in which the voices and visions of the incarcerated can be expressed.PCAP organizes collaborative workshops in theater, creative writing, spoken word, art, dance, and music workshops; works one-on-one with incarcerated individuals in the Portfolio Project; and connects returning citizens who want to pursue their art with artist-mentors through the Linkage Project. An annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners, Exhibition of Art by Incarcerated Youth, and Anthology of Creative Writing by Michigan Prisoners help bring the work of our members to a larger audience.As one of the primary mechanisms for recruiting new PCAP members, the courses affiliated with PCAP train students to facilitate workshops in the arts in state prisons, juvenile facilities, and Detroit high schools. Because availability of these courses varies by semester, interested students should consult the U-M Course Schedule when it becomes available for instructions on enrolling in a course.

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"While We Were Away" Podcast

June 1st 2019
Prison Creative Arts Project

"While We Were Away" was a reentry podcast creatively centering the voices of formerly incarcerated community members by telling their story. It involved interviewing, photographing, editing and guiding these community members, as well as various other events. On their website they also created resource lists for people coming home to help them find employment and policy information. The storytellers were free to use their materials for personal or professional gain, and audiences included students and un-affected community members who stood to increase their empathy by involvement with the podcast.

Self Portrait Projects at Spectrum Juvenile Justice Services

May 1st 2019
Prison Creative Arts Project

This project provided art supplies, of quality, for incarcerated youth (males age 11-21) to create artwork that gave them an outlet to express themselves, and for University of Michigan students to teach, participate, and learn alongside the young men about their lives and what it means to grow from their experiences. The project focused on students and incarcerated members creating self-portraits in an effort to redefine their purpose, reflect on their life experiences, and set a positive outlook on their lives moving forward. Funds from Arts at Michigan went towards the costs of art supplies.

PCAP Artist Residency: Andrew Martinez

March 15th 2019
Prison Creative Arts Project

The executive student committee of the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) hosted guest artist and scholar Dr. Andrew Martínez as a faculty resident from March 15- April 2 to provide a series of classes and workshops on art activism at the University of Michigan as well as to initiate dance curriculum with PCAP. Dr. Martínez offered a unique perspective to the University of Michigan community on the importance of the arts in activism and social change. He also shared his knowledge of prison systems in other countries, the role the arts may play in nation-building, and how the arts can be used as forms of political commentary, defiance and action. Funds from Arts at Michigan were used to cover the costs of an honorarium.