Brewster, L. (2010). The California arts-in-corrections music programme: A qualitative study. International Journal of Community Music, 3(1), 33-46.
Author Affiliations: University of San Francisco
Artforms: Guitar-building, music
Program: Arts-in-Corrections (AIC)
Program (Study) Location: Adult correctional facilities, California
Program Description: AIC was one of the first prisons arts program in the nation, operating from 1977-1981 under the auspices of the William James Association, and from 1981 to 2003 under the California Department of Corrections. Individual and group instruction was offered in the visual, performing, literary and media arts and fine craft disciplines in California correctional institutions. The California Department of Corrections resumed funding of the program in 2014.
Study Published: 2010
Participant Type: Former adult male inmates
Sample Size: 6
Data Type: Qualitative: In-depth interviews
Evaluation Focus: Impact of the AIC program on lives of inmates during and after incarceration.
Summary of Impact: Participants in AIC reported increased self discipline, self-esteem, self-respect, sense of purpose, and reconnection with family as a result of the program. Participants also reported reduced racial tension in the correctional facility. The evaluation follows up on ex-offenders 25 years after participation in the Arts-in-Corrections program, and the publication of Brewster’s 1983 cost-benefit analysis of the California AIC program.
KEYWORDS: adult, Arts-in-Corrections, discipline, family, guitar-building, music, race, self-esteem, self-respect, sense of purpose
Prison Arts Resource Project 