IU Prison Arts Initiative Fall 2022 Donation Drive
The IU Prison Arts Initiative is holding a fall clothing donation drive for the men in Putnamville Correctional Facility so that prisoners have clothes to wear upon release.
Donations of either new or gently used clothing (unisex or men’s), preferably in larger sizes, can be dropped off at one of our donation bins, located in the O’Neill building, the Department of Education building, or Maxwell Hall Room 028.
What is the IU Prison Arts Initiative?
The Indiana University Prison Arts Initiative (IUPAI) began in the fall of 2022 as an outreach partnership between the IU Arts & Humanities Council and the IU Center for Rural Engagement. Our primary goal is to send IU instructors into prisons and administer 16-week, college-level classes—we are currently in our first semester teaching at Putnamville Correctional Facility in Putnamville, IN! The students are learning the fundamentals of drawing and illustration, as well as basic writing and narrative technique. Over the course of the semester, they are also putting together a handmade book of their work, and we are hoping to hold end-of-semester art exhibitions in Putnamville Correctional Facility and Bloomington.
The feedback from the students has been incredible so far! Classes like ours provide students with much-needed therapy and space for expression—they can greatly improve the students’ mental well-being and add significant value to their lives. As well, our first class is skill-based, so its reach will go far beyond learning. Students are being trained in a hard skill, tremendously useful and educational in its own right, but especially so in the mental fitness, it develops: this fitness will be beneficial in all areas of students’ lives.
We are currently in the process of planning our second semester this coming spring, so stay tuned for updates!
Free
explore: Arts and Humanities, Quality of Place
NOVEMBER 3 – 17, 2022
ALL DAY (UNTIL NOVEMBER 17)
Contact Info:
Have any questions about IUPAI? Reach out to our Program Coordinator, Oliver Nell, at nello@iu.edu.
Original source can be found here.
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