‘A way to deal with emotion’: how teaching art can help prisoners

The Prison Arts Collective brings art, and renowned artists, to incarcerated people as a form of therapy and escape

The American prison has a long cultural history, depicted in movies from The Shawshank Redemption to The Green Mile. They are generally portrayed as harsh, dehumanising places populated by hardened criminals and vicious guards.

Who better, then, to demystify prisons and those who live in them than artists themselves? We've had this glorified TV version of what a prison is in America and sure, it's not a cakewalk, but it's also humans in there - our fellow humans," says Brian Roettinger, a graphic designer based in Los Angeles.