Alvin Smith, Pointless Acquisitions, from the 25th Prison Creative Arts Project exhibit.
For more than two decades, the University of Michigan’s annual Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) has shown the creative work of inmates with an annual exhibition. The 25th edition of PCAP runs March 16-31, but will be fully online. While the pandemic forced PCAP into virtual space, it had been on the company’s to-do list for a while.
“I hope our artists are pleased to know that their work will be shown well beyond the Ann Arbor gallery this year,” said Nora Krinitsky, director of PCAP, in a story published by UM’s Michigan News. “In this way, while this is an unusual year, we can accomplish PCAP’s mission of connecting people affected by the justice system more than ever with those in the free world.”
Gallery viewers can purchase the art over the phone and the artists receive 100% of the net sales. Vanessa Mayesky, PCAP’s assistant director, told Michigan News:
One thing we’re excited about with this digital version of the exhibit is that we can expand artwork sales to anyone in the US, not just those who make it to Ann Arbor. Typically, visitors buy around half of the items on sale. My secret hope is that we can sell all year round.
You can read the full story and see more of the artwork here.
Michigan News also wrote about how volunteers travel across the state and visit prisons to put together the pieces that go into the PCAP exhibits.
Click here for a full list of events for this year’s PCAP, including guided tours and numerous discussions.
Christopher Porter is a library technician and editor of Pulp.
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