Art Big Business In U.S. Prisons

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32224, 17 February 1970, Page 11

Art Big Business In U.S. Prisons

Art is becoming big business in American j prisons, the Associated ' Press reports. li In the last five years, paint- , ings, sculptures and other ' works of art worth nearly ( SUSI.2 million have been ' sold by prisons in the United , States, according to a survey , by the Stone-Brandel Centre. : The survey reports that at ' least 128 of the 747 prisons in , the United States have art , programmes. Nearly 7000 prisoners take t part in the art programmes | and they receive the money , from the sale of their works, the survey says. Other survey findings are: ■ Stateville Prison at Jolier, i Illinois, which sells SUS4O,OOO worth of art work a year, has i

the highest sales of any prison in the country. The 1800 artist-inmates there also give it the largest number of registered artists.

California prisons have the highest average annual art sales, with SUSISO.OOO a year. Mr Harry Woodward, direc-

tor of correctional programmes at Stone-Brandel, said the survey was undertaken after the centre discovered “how many inmates were painting, sculpting and so forth.” Stone-Brandel primarily is a centre for promoting mental health and has a programme aimed at helping prisoners about to be released to adjust to life outside prison. Mr Woodward said: “We also discovered that there was no information on a national basis as to how many institutions had programmes. We hope to stimulate interest in this area.” His organisation will sponsor a nation-wide penal art show in Chicago between February 27 and March 1. He said the best work of the prisoners was being selec-

ted at institutions across the country and would be displayed at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The organisation, with the

National Council on Crime and Delinquency, also is trying to organise a show to travel around the country.