About
Here at Imprisoned Art, our aim is to unlock the creative talents of those behind locked doors. We strive to bring art from the inside into the world outside.
There is an abundance of talent within secure environments, prisons and secure hospitals that may never be acknowledged within the public domain.
Prison Art is a well established genre of art that even the most seasoned of Art collectors will be impressed with
Our ethos is to take art into institutions to provide patients and prisoners incentive to participate in expressing themselves through art. we encourage art as a positive form of therapy and a coping strategy.
We provide a platform for these talented people to share their work with the world, to tell parts of their stories through this medium and to receive feedback from other artists, collectors and projects that might not know this talent existed.
We are a team of ex-offenders and a criminologist who have experienced the justice system but now it's our turn to give something back.
So if you're looking for Prints , Crafts or Original Prison art you are in the right place
Our Artists have phenomenal talent that we want to share with you.
The History of prison art is largely undocumented, but it is likely that prisoners have produced art since the earliest forms of confinement. The first recreation and art programs in the US were offered at Elmira Reformatory in 1876.Prison art is a reflection and a representation of a culture. Even though this may be a subculture or counterculture, the art can be symbolic of common values, attitudes, behavioural practices and knowledge, whilst remaining connected to the theme of ‘outside’.Prison art is unique in several ways. Due to the low social status of prisoners, art by prisoners has not historically been well respected. The art, like the prisoners themselves is often subject to controls.Art made by prisoners is sometimes valued or conversely sometimes sought out to be actively destroyed. Prisoners often lack art supplies and have been known to fashion supplies from materials at hand such as sweets or instant coffee.Prison art offers a chance for prisoners to do something creative with their time and focus their energy on something enjoyable and relaxing. When you’re in prison day by day art offers an opportunity to be creative and produce something different and meaningful.A prison artist is desperate for a creative outlet, and this can become problematic when their circumstances do not allow it. Furthermore, there is a contradiction inherent in prison art: that the prison is punitive but creative activities are actually very rewarding.You will find some of the best prion art here at Imprisoned Art our aim is to share this with the world.
