Prison Arts Collective

Prison Arts Collective PAC expands access to the transformative power of the arts by providing arts programming in prisons.

Please join us next week June 4 at 5PM with in Fresno for the Opening Reception for Prison Arts Collective's "Inside S...
05/28/2026

Please join us next week June 4 at 5PM with in Fresno for the Opening Reception for Prison Arts Collective's "Inside Stories" Exhibition. With the goal of promoting awareness of art as a human right and artistic expression as a bridge between communities, the artworks in this exhibition were created by artists in PAC classes at Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) and Avenal State Prison (ASP), taking inspiration in the visual style of comic books. These classes were led by incarcerated artists in PAC’s Arts Facilitator Training Program, an intensive leadership training that prepares these artists to lead multidisciplinary arts classes as Peer Facilitators.

PAC's dedicated Exhibitions Assistant, Carlo, recently updated the art archive with works from recent years. Above is a ...
05/20/2026

PAC's dedicated Exhibitions Assistant, Carlo, recently updated the art archive with works from recent years. Above is a piece created last year by a Prison Arts Collective student at the California Institution for Women. 🎨🖌

Join us for the "Inside the Comic Panel" closing reception presented by Prison Arts Collective (PAC) in collaboration wi...
05/18/2026

Join us for the "Inside the Comic Panel" closing reception presented by Prison Arts Collective (PAC) in collaboration with the B Awesum and River Park Art Groove Gallery.

This exhibition presents a collection of comic book panels created by incarcerated artists at Central California Women’s Facility created during a multidisciplinary art class co-led by Peer Facilitators Angela and Sonia.

Thank you to everyone who attended the "Inside the Comic Panel" opening reception collaboration with the B Awesum and Ri...
05/14/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended the "Inside the Comic Panel" opening reception collaboration with the B Awesum and River Park Art Groove Gallery back in March. The reception featured an artist talk by Fresno Regional Lead Martin Townsend, who honored the contributing artists, explored their themes, and highlighted the impact of arts programming in prisons.

The comic-book panels on display were created by incarcerated artists at Central California Women’s Facility during a multidisciplinary art class co-led by PAC Peer Facilitators Angela and Sonia.

If you missed the opening, you still have a chance to attend the closing reception featuring another artist talk from Martin on May 21, 2026, from 5–8 PM at Art Groove Event Center in Fresno, California.

On April 15, PAC Program Assistant Tatianna hosted a Growing Hope Pilot Workshop in the Institute for the Arts, Humaniti...
05/12/2026

On April 15, PAC Program Assistant Tatianna hosted a Growing Hope Pilot Workshop in the Institute for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Justice office space. The workshop included a short art lesson and a succulent planting activity.

Growing Hope is a project that aims to bring basic techniques of gardening into carceral settings with the support of San Diego State University faculty and staff. The program is designed to incorporate aspects of self expression, art education, and community building through taking care of a personal potted plant. The project was initially launched in 2024 when graduate student Juana built flower beds with participants at California Institution for Women in a community garden program. Participants grew herbs and other edible plants that were utilized by the community.

Tatiana has since worked on relaunching the program with hopes to bring it back into California prisons. Stay tuned for future updates on this project!

Happy Mother's Day from Prison Arts Collective! The Artwork featured is titled "For My Mother" created by Lee, a Partici...
05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day from Prison Arts Collective! The Artwork featured is titled "For My Mother" created by Lee, a Participant at California Institute for Men in 2017.

Last month Prison Arts Collective tabled at two events! On April 15 we joined Pitzer College’s Arts Education and Advoca...
05/07/2026

Last month Prison Arts Collective tabled at two events! On April 15 we joined Pitzer College’s Arts Education and Advocacy Career Fair with support from team members and two CSULA interns to share our mission with the Pitzer community and offer internship opportunities to students. The following day, April 16, two of our SDSU interns led a tabling event on San Diego State University’s campus. A big shout-out to our amazing interns for their hard work, and thank you to the San Diego State and Pitzer communities for welcoming us; we had a wonderful time!

Last week we joined inside of Chavalier’s Bookstore in Los Angeles to celebrate the launch of our founding director Anni...
05/06/2026

Last week we joined inside of Chavalier’s Bookstore in Los Angeles to celebrate the launch of our founding director Annie Buckley’s book, “Changemakers’ Guide to Prison Arts Programming.” It was a beautiful, informative evening that included a panel discussion with the author alongside PAC colleagues Ginny Oshiro, Mark Taylor, and Cait Ahearn. The night ended with raffle prizes of PAC merchandise and photography by Peter Merts. Thank you to everyone who joined, and congratulations to Annie Buckley on her new book.

Today, May 5, is National Teacher Appreciation Day! We want to honor our teachers across the state both in and outside o...
05/05/2026

Today, May 5, is National Teacher Appreciation Day! We want to honor our teachers across the state both in and outside of the prisons who keep this program running. The dedication and passion of our teachers shape PAC and we are forever grateful for their contributions.

We were honored to hold the reception for Art of Resilience, an exhibition presented last month by Prison Arts Collectiv...
04/28/2026

We were honored to hold the reception for Art of Resilience, an exhibition presented last month by Prison Arts Collective in collaboration with the California Western School of Law Innocence & Justice Clinic. The show centers awareness of art as a human right and highlights artistic expression as a bridge between communities. The reception followed the panel “Innocence Work as a Catalyst for Change,” featuring Alexis Hoag-Foudjour (Brooklyn Law School), Amy Kimpel (California Western Innocence & Justice Clinic), and Ty Alper (UC Berkeley Law).

Thank you to the Innocence & Justice Clinic for welcoming us and exhibiting our participants’ work, it was a beautiful evening!

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