Abstract

My Choice of Weapon, 2017

M. Nguyen

Oil Pastel

16” x 20” “Beyond the Blue” is a traveling exhibition of over 100 works of art created by incarcerated individuals participating in weekly arts programming through the Prison Arts Collective (PAC). The artists included seek to transform their lives through art and aim to shift society’s stereotypical image of ‘inmate’ or ‘prisoner’ by sharing their personal expressions and common humanity. “Beyond the Blue” opened at CB1 Gallery in Los Angeles in June 2017 and has traveled to additional venues, including Homegirl Cafe in Los Angeles, with scheduled visits throughout Southern California galleries and museums through 2020. Along with the exhibition, the PAC has organized a series of panels on Art and Restorative Justice which seek to examine a variety of issues and considerations surrounding the experience of incarceration. The Prison Arts Collective is a project led by California State University, San Bernardino, professor, Annie Buckley, which facilitates weekly programs in eight California state prisons and will expand to twelve institutions by 2020. The PAC’s multidisciplinary arts classes are led by a collaborative team of teaching artists, university students, and peer facilitators. The program also offers a comprehensive Arts Facilitator Training program for incarcerated individuals that want to grow as leaders and mentors. The PAC is supported by Arts in Corrections, an initiative of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Arts Council.