Support the Prison Art Program!

UPDATE:

The Prison Art Program began it's third workshop series in January of 2024 and will be completing a series of 10 workshops at the end of May. We'll be recruiting volunteers, applying for grants, and building out our programming over the summer before starting workshops up again next fall!

Background:

In 2022, Gormley Gallery hosted Life on Hold curated by Casey McKeel, which featured the work of people incarcerated at Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW). The work was created through a collaboration with NDMU students, faculty, and staff, as well as community members. That collaboration was so successful and received that it marked the beginning of the Prison Art Program. This year, we continued the partnership and held more workshops at the prison to create work for another exhibition this spring!

In 2022, we held four workshops. This year in 2023, we held six workshops, with more volunteers, and created even more art than last year. In 2024 we hope to hold 10 workshops!

Thus far, this has been an entirely volunteer-run program, and supplies were fully funded by community donations for a second year in a row. We are now looking for community and foundation support to help fund the last portion of this year's program, which will be to display the art in an exhibition which will be on view January 22 through March 1, 2024, with a reception Saturday, January 27, 4-6pm. And we also hope to secure funding for supplies for Spring semester 2024, as well as small stipends for our instructors and coordinator.

After the exhibition closes, we want to mail the art to the artists' families, since it cannot be returned to them in prison. We estimate this will cost $15-20/piece, roughly $1000 for all pieces.

Allocation of Funds:

Mailing art home: $1000

Framing and hanging for exhibition: $500

Total: $1500 to complete 2023 Art Program

For 2024 Art Program starting in January:

$1000 to buy art supplies in bulk

$1000 to provide $100 art stipends to instructors for each class to help make the program sustainable

$500 stipend for program coordinator

Total: $2500 for 2024 semester