Arts in Corrections (AIC) is a program for system engaged individuals at the Mariposa County Adult Detention Facility and a partnership program with the Mariposa County Sheriff Office offering creative writing and pencil shade drawing workshops to inmates.
The goals of Mariposa Arts in Corrections (AIC) program is multifaceted, focusing on personal, emotional, and social benefits for participants, as well as broader benefits to the environment and community at large. This program aims to foster resilience, self-awareness, and skill-building through creative expression. Here are some of the primary goals:
- Promote Personal Growth and Transformation
- Encourage Emotional Expression and Healing
- Develop Communication and Social Skills
- Teach Practical and Creative Skills
- Reduce Recidivism
- Enhance Facility Environment and Public Safety
- Support Community and Family Connections
Arts in Corrections programs ultimately seek to bring healing, growth, and transformation to individuals and communities affected by incarceration. Most importantly, it utilizes the arts as an equalizer that can create a level playing field where underrepresented voices can be heard, amplified and engaged.
POETRY VOLUME 3 CHAPBOOK
This chapbook is a powerful collection of poetry, prose, and drawings created by participants in the Arts in Corrections program at the Mariposa County Adult Detention Facility. Guided by Mariposa Arts Council Teaching Artists Clay River and Andra Kovacs, the artists in custody explored themes of self-expression, identity, and transformation through creative writing and visual art.
You can pick up copies of the chapbook in person at the Mariposa Arts Council office, Uncle Bingo’s Skate Shop, Set Free Thrift, and the Mariposa Library or ORDER ONLINE
All proceeds from chapbook sales will go directly toward purchasing art curriculum materials for the Mariposa Jail Library, ensuring that future participants have continued access to creative learning opportunities.
2025 Arts in Corrections Program Live Reading
JANUARY 13, 2026 at Mariposa County Library / 5:30 – 6:30pm
A live poetry reading, designed to highlight the Arts Council’s ongoing arts initiatives and allows former AIC participants to engage in conversation with and read their work to their community.
This program is supported by the The Impact Projects grant program, which intends to support collaborative projects that center artists and artistic practice in responding to issues facing California, including the pervasive social, political, and economic inequalities experienced by those communities most vulnerable. This program prioritizes local artists and forms of arts and cultural expression that are unique to, and/or historically rooted in, the specific communities to be served.
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