Flowers grown in concrete
Prison arts are a tool for healing for program participants and all who they come in contact with
The last fifteen months have been a particularly challenging time for California’s prison arts program.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people experiencing incarceration have been further isolated, with institutions closed to visitation and all in-person arts programming stopped. Coordinating Organizations have had to reimagine their program offerings to continue to reach their students, at a time when human connection and healing were of the utmost importance.
A new CAC report published this week is a culmination of those efforts from the past year for Arts in Corrections to hold ourselves accountable to our program’s values, and a tangible outcome that illustrates how our state’s prison arts can be a tool for healing for our program participants and all who they come in contact with. It is an opportunity for us, the Californian community, to co-create a society where decarceration is possible.
It is an opportunity for us, the Californian community, to co-create a society where decarceration is possible.
The report, titled Flowers Grown in Concrete: Exploring the Healing Power of the Arts for People Experiencing Incarceration, demonstrates the impacts of California’s prison arts program, especially during this time of global health crisis. It acknowledges the importance of healing-centered programming to address the trauma endured by people experiencing incarceration, and provides tools through the arts for coping with and healing those traumas while also improving relationships with their community and families outside the institution.
We are thankful to Dr. Linda Burton, Dean of the School of Social Welfare at the University of Berkeley, for partnering with the University of Wisconsin Justice Lab for the creation of this report. We are grateful to Dr. John M. Eason and his team, which includes Dr. Chloe Haimson, Dr. Tarsha Herelle, and Major Eason.
Click here to view the report.
Mariana Moscoso is the Arts in Corrections Program Manager for the California Arts Council.
Administered by the California Arts Council and made possible via an interagency agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), California’s Arts in Corrections program is designed to have a positive impact on the social and emotional well-being of people experiencing incarceration. Arts education can increase critical thinking skills, build positive relationships and promote meaningful interactions between participants and their peers, facility staff, loved ones, and other individuals and community groups both inside and outside of the boundaries of their institutions.
For more information about California’s Arts in Corrections program, visit artsincorrections.org.
