In summer 2017, I worked with a group of dedicated collaborators to launch Ohio Prison Arts Connection. Our first step was to conduct a survey of the field - who in Ohio was facilitating arts programs or projects, and in which Ohio prisons? The result is represented by the image above - an evolving archive representing our best understanding of programs and initiatives in Ohio prisons, both past and present. We presented the data as a searchable map to demonstrate the range of possibilities that are being explored in the carceral space in our state. The map today should be taken as a representation of the pre-COVID landscape unless otherwise stated. This work of public scholarship has formed the basis for our organizing work statewide.
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In prisons, incarcerated people teach each other; programs are made possible by recreations staff, chapel staff, or warden's offices; and professional teaching artists come in to facilities from the outside world to facilitate programs and projects. All of these are represented here to the best of our ability.