Prison Creative Arts Project Visual Art Database

The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) brings those impacted by the justice system together with the University of Michigan community for artistic collaboration, mutual learning, and growth. We are a program of the LSA Residential College. Founded in 1990 with a single theatre workshop, PCAP has grown to include courses, exhibits, publications, arts programming, and events that reach thousands of people each year.

The Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners is PCAP's most publicly visible project and is one of the largest exhibitions of incarcerated artists in the world. The Annual Exhibition typically hangs for two weeks at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus (U-M). The exhibition features art curated from artists in every state prison in Michigan. Most of the artwork is for sale and the net proceeds of art sales go directly to the artists themselves.

This site features images of the artwork included in every exhibition mounted by PCAP since 1996. You can browse the art, view images, and read the artists' statements when available.

Please note that all of the images you see in this database are the property of the artists who created these works. Artists retain all rights to their art including copright. Reproduction of a work in whole or in part without the permission of the artist and the Prison Creative Arts Project is prohibited. For questions about theses works or for permission to reproduce or license them, please contact pcapinfo@umich.edu.