Inmates participate in a hip-hop dance class at Ironwood State Prison led by instructor Cesar Martinez. Photo by Peter Merts.
SACRAMENTO–The California Arts Council has awarded new contracts to 12 arts organizations providing rehabilitative services to California inmates through its Arts in Corrections program. Arts programming now reaches all 35 state adult correctional institutions – a significant increase from the 20 institutions served by the program in the previous fiscal year.
Administered by the California Arts Council, the Arts in Corrections program enhances rehabilitative goals, improves the safety and environment of state prisons, and combats recidivism. Services provided span the full spectrum of art disciplines, with organizations offering instruction in theater, guitar, dance, creative writing, and Native American beadwork, among many others.
California’s Arts in Corrections program is made possible by funding from the Division of Rehabilitative Programs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Since the program’s re-launch in 2013, CDCR’s investment has increased from $2.5 million in the first two years to an $8 million annual commitment. California’s Arts in Corrections program has become internationally renowned for its high-impact, innovative approach to addressing the state’s critical public safety needs and rehabilitative priorities through the arts.
“It is a watershed moment to bring Arts in Corrections programming to all of California’s state adult institutions, building upon the momentum of its success,” said Ayanna Kiburi, Interim Director of the California Arts Council. “Inmates have the opportunity to work with incredible California artists and arts organizations to find the power to effect change through creative expression – to change how they interact with others, how they see themselves, and the overall trajectory of their lives.”
“The state’s continued support of Arts in Corrections is indicative of the positive change happening throughout California’s prisons,” said CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan. “We are proud to partner with the California Arts Council to provide these life-changing programs that promote positive expression while also guiding offenders to deeper understanding of their emotions and choices.”
The positive impact of the Arts in Corrections program is evident through the feedback shared by the inmates themselves:
“Arts programming helped me figured out what I want to do with my life; and bettering myself and how I react to situations,” said one participant at the California Institution for Women. “I don’t always have to blow up, I don’t always have to stuff it away. There’s a way to express it.”
“This class has brought down barriers that I have had with these men I have been thrown in with,” another participant remarked. “I look at all of them differently now. Friendships have arisen in places I would never before have attempted.”
Arts in Corrections Contract Awardees
Actors’ Gang – Los Angeles
Facilities served: California Institution for Men; California Institution for Women; California State Prison, Sacramento; California Rehabilitation Center; Ironwood State Prison.
Alliance for California Traditional Arts – Fresno, CA
Facilities served: Avenal State Prison; California City Correctional Facility; California Correctional Institution; California Institution for Men; California Institution for Women; California Rehabilitation Center; California State Prison, Corcoran; California State Prison, Los Angeles County; Central California Women’s Facility; Correctional Training Facility; Chuckawalla Valley State Prison; Ironwood State Prison; Pleasant Valley State Prison; Salinas Valley State Prison; Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran; Valley State Prison
Dance Kaiso – San Francisco, CA
Facilities served: Correctional Training Facility, Salinas Valley State Prison
Fresno Arts Council – Fresno, CA
Facilities served: Avenal State Prison; California State Prison, Corcoran; Pleasant Valley State Prison; Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran.
KALW – San Francisco, CA
Facilities served: California State Prison, Solano; San Quentin State Prison.
Arts Council of Kern – Bakersfield, CA
Facilities served: Kern Valley State Prison, North Kern State Prison, Wasco State Prison
InsideOut Writers – Los Angeles, CA
Facilities served: California City Correctional Facility, California Correctional Institution, Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, Kern Valley State Prison, Ironwood State Prison
Marin Shakespeare Company – San Rafael, CA
Facilities served: California Health Care Facility, Stockton; California Medical Facility; California State Prison, Solano; Deuel Vocational Institution; Folsom State Prison; High Desert State Prison; San Quentin State Prison
Muckenthaler Cultural Center – Fullerton, CA
Facilities served: California Rehabilitation Center
Red Ladder Theatre Company – San Jose, CA
Facilities served: California Health Care Facility, Stockton; Central California Women’s Facility; Correctional Training Facility; Deuel Vocational Institution; Folsom State Prison; Folsom Women’s Facility; Salinas Valley State Prison; Valley State Prison
Riverside Arts Council – Riverside, CA
Facilities served: California Rehabilitation Center, California Institution for Men, California Institution for Women
William James Association – Santa Cruz, CA
Facilities served: California Correctional Center; California Institution for Men; California Institution for Women; California Medical Facility; California Men’s Colony; California Rehabilitation Center; California State Prison, Centinela; California State Prison, Solano; High Desert State Prison; Mule Creek State Prison; Pelican Bay State Prison; Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility; San Quentin State Prison; Sierra Conservation Center
