National Prison Arts Survey Wants Your Input

Carving a linoleum block, printmaking class, San Quentin State Prison, California. Photo: Peter Merts.

Do you work in prison arts? Have you got thoughts, advice and problem-solving or teaching techniques you’d like to share?

The William James Association alongside The Prison Arts Coalition and a host of other partners have launched the National Prison Arts Survey to crowdsource all the knowledge and strategies that exists out there in all of your heads and teaching manuals.

CLICK HERE for the National Prison Arts Survey

There is talk about whether to form a national organization of prison arts organizations and your input it crucial at this early stage.

Over recent years, the William James Association and California Lawyers for the Arts has been committed to research into effective prison arts teaching. Most notably they put out the paper Art Practice and Its Impact in California Prisons, by Larry Brewster.

It is thought that a national organization could offer the following to members:

Raise awareness of programmatic efficacy
Host national or regional conferences
Share best practices
Foster community
Support, collect and disseminate relevant research
Offer professional development opportunities

The 5-minute survey is designed to help better understand the need for a national prison arts association and how it might serve potential members like you.

CLICK HERE for the National Prison Arts Survey

The survey was developed with input by prison arts advocates and practitioners, including:

Cynthia Gutierrez – Barrios Unidos Prison Project

Ella Turenne – Artist, Activist, Educator; Occidental College

Freddy Gutierrez – Community Worker, Performing Artist

Illya Kowalchuk – Pop Culture Classroom

Jonathan Blanco – Oregon State Penitentiary Hobby Shop

Laurie Brooks – William James Association

Lesley Currier – Marin Shakespeare Company

Nate Henry-Silva – Imagine Bus Project

Nathalie Costa Thill – Adirondack Center for Writing

Treacy Ziegler – An Open Window