ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore the author's development over the past decade of the program that has since developed into Prison Arts Collective (PAC), a statewide Arts in Corrections initiative. The chapter will begin with a narrative account of the organization's founding and continue to address its trajectory from a small community-based effort to a large organization partnering with two of the state's biggest bureaucracies. The name evolved with the program, which now includes art programs on 17 facilities in 14 men's and 2 women's prisons of all levels of security, from high to medium, throughout California and has affiliations with five state University campuses and a growing number of national and international collaborators. A primary focus throughout will be the unique challenges and opportunities that derive from balancing organic growth with structural processes as the program has grown, with a focus on maintaining the program's roots while being responsive to institutional and community needs.
