From October 2, 2020, to October 30, 2020, the Coleman Center hosted portraits from the ongoing exhibition series Art On The Inside from the Alabama Prison Art and Education Program. The program has offered arts and educational classes in Alabama prisons since 2003. The exhibition included drawings that express the students’ distinct experiences “in an environment that is frequently so contrary to nurturing creativity.” Contributing artists are “behind walls, bars, locks, and wire.”
The program grew from one poet teaching one class in one facility to hundreds of classes that have reached thousands of students in 12 facilities across the state. Those who enroll in arts courses have the option to keep their work, loan it, donate for exhibition, or submit pieces for publication in a biennial anthology of student creative work.
Art On The Inside traveled to Alabama Contemporary Art Center in Mobile and will remain installed through January 16, 2021.
