Program Description
Event Details
You're invited to join us for a panel discussion exploring the unique partnership between San Quentin Prison Arts Project and San Francisco Opera, and the importance of arts education in today’s world.
San Quentin Prison Arts Project was very excited to be asked to exhibit work at the San Francisco Opera House during the production of Fidelio. The request came just as programming was re-starting after Covid quarantines, so was especially welcome. Themes of the opera are close to the hearts and minds of many today, and are especially meaningful to those who are incarcerated or were in the past, like the artists seen here. This work focuses on themes of Freedom, Injustice, Political Persecution and Loyal Love.
The combination of fine arts and prisons can be both surprising and highly unusual. Bringing art to people in institutions is based on the belief that participating in the artistic process helps a person's self-esteem and outlook on the world. Art workshops teach self-discipline, problem solving, and concentration and these skills can translate to other aspects of life and fulfill a need for creativity, self-expression, and self-respect. Begun in 1977, William James Association (WJA)’s Prison Arts Project hires professional artists to offer classes inside prisons. With positive results seen by incarcerated artists, teaching artists and by staff, the California Department of Corrections embraced the program and maintained Arts-in-Corrections (AIC) statewide for thirty years, from 1980-2010.
Our presenters will be:
- Carol Newborg from San Quentin Prison Arts Project
- Cole Thomason-Redus from San Francisco Opera
- Henry Frank & Isiah Daniels, former students of the Prison Arts Project
Learn more about the Innocence exhibit and the San Quentin Prison Arts Project here.