Prison Arts Collective

Meet Kimberly (Kimmi) Garcia! She started working with the Prison Arts Collective in September 2020 as the Program Assistant and is excited to support PAC and our participants in their creative endeavors. Kimmi graduated from San Diego State University with her Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Counseling and Social Change, and finds writing to be her creative medium of choice. She believes that "art has the power to connect us with one another and allows us to free the mind, which are two powerful components that PAC brings to our participants." We are so excited to have your positive mindset and inspiring dedication on our team! #meetthePAC #prisonartscollective

Meet Elizabeth Gutierrez!! She is a Human Resources Intern with PAC that has been involved with PAC since Spring 2020. Elizabeth believes that it is important "to be aware of our surroundings, our existence, and the passions that drive us." She also sees art as "not only a skill that one could learn, but something that also teaches the importance of patience, resilience, and creativity in which members could apply to their own personal life experiences." Thank you for being a part of the PAC Elizabeth! #prisonartscollective #meetthePAC

Prison Fact Friday! PAC has put together a visual showing some of the disparities within federal and state prisons. Thank you for your amazing design Alvaro! #prisonartscollective #prisonfact

Thanks to our friends at Justice Arts Coalition and my editors at Los Angeles Review of Books for making possible this mini version of Art Inside focused on our Arts Facilitator Training, available now on the JAC blog! This program is close to my heart. I am so proud of the many peer facilitators we work with throughout California. I hope it inspires others in this work. A special shout out to PAC teaching artist Alex Masushige for his awesome collaboration on the FT project for the past 3 years!

Meet Dr. Julie L. Taylor!! Dr. Taylor is Prison Art Collective's Faculty Director at California State University San Bernardino Chapter. She began working with PAC as a guest artist and immediatly found that her experience had "sincere and vulnerable communicative moments and connections with others." Julie adds, "It was truly a humbling experience that reminded in me a whole new way what it means to be human and the communicative impact of teaching with intention and compassion." After this, she knew that she wanted to become more involved in PAC. Thank you for being an inspiring part of our team Julie! #prisonartscollective #meettheteam

Prison Fact Friday! Check out some shocking numbers in relation to the U.S. prison system. Our incarcerated population is incredibly big and in need of creative outlets in order to learn and express themselves. This is why we believe in art as a human right, every individual is vital and every voice matters, and we want to bridge societal gaps in understanding others through art. Read more about our values at https://buff.ly/33HHhBw #prisonartscollective #prisonfacts

PAC in Philadelphia, virtually. We are pleased to share that two PAC team members, Sophie and Stan, did a fantastic job representing PAC in this national conversation organized by the Institute for Community Justice. The moving dialogue explored issues related to the online exhibition, Art as Resistance, featuring works by three PAC artists; Stan, Wendy, and Ray. Congratulations to all of them, and a big thanks to Sophie for organizing and representing PAC in this event! #prisonartscollective

Meet Alexander Masushige! Alex is one of PAC's Teaching Artists and a Facilitator Training Leader. He has been working with PAC since 2017 and loves "collaborating with our diverse team to create accessible arts lessons in order to expand access to the arts." Alex originally pursued a degree in fashion design, but later changed his major to focus on visual art and art education. He still uses fashion design processes in his artwork today. Thank you Alex for bringing your passion of the arts to our team and participants! #prisonartscollective #meetourteam

Prison Fact Friday! Did you know about the large number of parents who are currently incarcertated, and how big of an impact this has on their children as well? #prisonartscollective #prisonfacts This image was designed by PAC's graphic design intern, Alvaro Lucca.

Art as Resistance Virtual Gallery will be taking place October 5-9, 2020! Please join us to view some of PAC's artwork, as well as artwork from many other unique organizations! To register for the event as a whole, you can go here: https://fight.org/justice-reentry-healthcare-summit-2020-e/. To read more about the day PAC's artwork will be shown, visit: https://fight.org//art-as-resistance-gallery-day-1-imagine/

Meet Chitra! Chitra is one of PAC's new Faculty Associates. Chitra describes drawing as "a way to channel thoughts onto paper" and by literally facing her fears/trauma, she tries to overcome them. This is a process she hopes to share with our participants. Chitra also believes that "all art making is a process that gives voice to emotions and feelings, and any way a human being can peacefully, respectfully self-express is a skill worth striving for." We are so happy to have you Chitra! #prisonartscollective

We are excited to announce that we will be sharing some beautiful graphic design work done by one of our interns! Alvaro created this design, along with other posters that display different facts about the U.S. prison system. We hope to shine a light on the reality of this system and inform everyone why we believe in the endless power of the arts and the health and wellbeing of our participants. #prisonfactfriday #prisonartscollective

During our project titled "Redemption" in 2017, our participants collaborated with one another and discussed ideas for their final performances at CIM. This photo shows some of our talented participants performing their own work and ideas during class. We miss our talented participants and hope they are staying healthy during this difficult time. #prisonartscollective Photo by: Peter Merts.