2020 will be remember as the year the world shifted into the COVID-19 pandemic, but for us, it was also the beginning of it all.

The new pandemic and uncertainty surrounding it caused the world to pause. This stopped our recent development, but never dit it deter us from our goal. More than ever, with visitation cancelled and 24h lock down, incarcerated artists will need - almost to a vital extent - an occupation for their minds.

It’s in this context that in partnership with Inked Magazine, we launched our national prison art contest across all correctional facilities in the country with the ultimate goal to gather enough art to publish a coffee table art book.

Thanks to a successful mailing campaign and Inked Magazine being popular with the incarcerated population, the word eventually got out. And weeks after weeks, we would receive more new art pieces.

Our national art contest closed on May 2021, after receiving over 400 amazing artworks. On August 5th, we announced the 100 winners who will be featured in the art book and launch our crowdfunding to support the publishing costs. This day was also when we revealed our interactive mural in Denver’s Rino District – a collage of all 400 artworks superimposed on the Statue of Liberty behind bars. The message was clear – these artists behind walls are extremely talented and it is time to denounce the use of mass incarceration in the US.  

This event was also marked by Colorado DOC Executive Director Dean Williams’s speech, expressing his support for our work and vouching the importance of transforming our criminal justice system to a collaborative mindset rather than punitive.

His supportive speech was a reflection of the many months of close work with him and Colorado DOC to change the rules here. In September 2021, a milestone was finally achieved as we became officially the first external company allowed to contract with incarcerated individuals. The next step for us, is to facilitate the implementation of this prison reform in the other 49 States. The Coffee Table Art Book will be our ambassador for this cause.

Unfortunately, we did not meet our goals with the crowdfunding but are still determined to self-publish this year. We are actively looking for a partner to help us finance the publishing. Let us know if you have a recommendation!