Founded in 1990, The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) is committed to original work in the arts in Michigan correctional facilities, juvenile facilities, urban high schools, and communities across the state.  Our process is guided by respect and a spirit of collaboration in which vulnerability, risk and improvisation lead to discovery.  We make possible the spaces in which the voices and visions of the incarcerated can be expressed. 

To date PCAP has facilitated hundreds of Collaborative Workshops in theater, creative writing, art, dance, music and video, each culminating in a final performance, reading or exhibit. 

The Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners, now in its twelfth year showcases the work of prison artists around the state, breaking stereotypes and encouraging dialogue between people in prison and those outside.

For the past ten years, PCAP has curated an Exhibition of Art by Incarcerated Youth showcasing the work of artists in Michigan’s juvenile facilities.

The Portfolio Project  works one on one with incarcerated youth and adults to help them prepare portfolios of their art and creative writing for presentation to parole boards, judges, schools, and employers when they return home. 

The Linkage Project  links incarcerated youth and adult artists, writers, musicians, actors, and dancers with a community arts mentor upon their release from prison or a juvenile facility, supporting them as they make the transition back into the community.