Prison Arts Project, San Quentin | Bay Area Now 7 (BAN7)
Channel: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Date: 2014-09-16

See more at http://ybca.org/ban7

Exploring the history and transformative effects of the William James Association Prison Arts Project on current and former inmates of San Quentin State Prison and their communities. San Quentin Prison Arts Project is an exhibition partner for Bay Area Now 7.

The San Quentin Prison Arts Project is the major program of the William James Association, which started in 1977. It was the original model for Arts-in-Corrections, a statewide prison arts program which ran from 1980-2010 and which helped lower recidivism and improve the quality of life for inmates, their families, and the larger community. Prison Arts Project is based on the belief that when institutionalized individuals participate in the arts their self-esteem and outlook on the world is significantly affected. Art workshops teach self-discipline, problem-solving, and concentration. The skills acquired through participation in the arts are translated to many other parts of one’s life. San Quentin Prison Arts Project currently offers painting, drawing, printmaking, creative writing, theater, and music programs through the deep commitment of its dedicated teachers and institutional support. 

http://www.prisonartsproject.org/

Through the work of artists who capture the spirit of "now," YBCA's signature triennial, Bay Area Now, brings to life current perspectives for both this art center and the regional art scene. In its seventh edition, BAN7 is experimenting with a new approach to curating that highlights collaborations with our region's artists and arts organizations and pushes beyond presentation toward a multidisciplinary celebration of the diversity of artistic practices in the Bay Area.

BAN7's core idea is to decentralize the curatorial process, and centralize the public presentation of some of the most exciting artistic voices in the region today.

As a common shared site for the presentation of works, BAN7 aims to create a lucid web of creative activity in the Bay Area. Our vision to create a platform for new work and experimentation is rooted in the belief that a decentralized curatorial process will open up an opportunity for a wider range of voices and create spaces for dialogue beyond the arts.

The visual arts component of Bay Area Now 7 has been reconceived through an open and rigorous selection process. By inviting noncommercial, small- to mid-size regional visual arts organizations to curate site-specific projects with Bay Area artists in YBCA's galleries, we are making visible the rich complexity of our many arts communities. Using an art fair style format in which the selected participants curate projects for specific locations throughout an exhibition space, BAN7 celebrates visual arts organizations as vital players in the local arts ecology. The exhibition aims to foster increased appreciation for Bay Area art, artists, and organizers, and to promote a greater understanding of the vast range of practices and individual visions that make the Bay Area such a vibrant center for contemporary art.