about the program
California Arts in Corrections
Arts in Corrections is a partnership between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Arts Council designed to have a positive impact on the social and emotional well-being of people experiencing incarceration, promoting healing and interpersonal transformation both inside and outside of the boundaries of their institutions.
The program upholds the following values:
People experiencing incarceration are deserving of dignity and respect.
Policies should dismantle the root causes of incarceration.
Community-based interventions reduce harm and make communities safer by replacing state-sanctioned systems of retribution and punishment.
Individual and collective accountability for harm, and the healing of trauma, can create a more safe and just society for all.
California’s Arts in Corrections program is made possible by funding from the Division of Rehabilitative Programs at CDCR.
Since the program’s re-launch in the 2013-14 fiscal year, CDCR’s investment has increased from $2.5 million in the first two years to an $8 million annual commitment.
Administered by the California Arts Council, services provided span the full spectrum of art disciplines, with organizations offering instruction in visual; literary; media; performing; and cultural, folk, and traditional arts.
As of June 2017, arts programming is provided at all 35 state adult correctional facilities.
About the partners
California Arts Council
The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to strengthen arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all.
The Arts in Corrections program is deeply tied to the California Arts Council’s belief in the power of the arts to inspire change, transformation, and growth. With each arts engagement comes a new opportunity to tap an individual's creativity, illustrate their potential, and strengthen resolve.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The mission of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is to facilitate the successful reintegration of the individuals in our care back to their communities equipped with the tools to be drug-free, healthy, and employable members of society by providing education, treatment, rehabilitative, and restorative justice programs, all in a safe and humane environment.
The goal of the Arts in Corrections program is to expose people experiencing incarceration to courses where they can express themselves therapeutically through drawing, writing, dancing, poetry, acting, and other artistic methods.
Video: Faces of Transformation (2020)
