Art and Incarceration

UCF’s Florida Prison Education Project hosts an art exhibition and one-hour panel discussion featuring Baz Dreisinger, Executive Director of Incarceration Nations Network and author of Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World, David Gussak, Florida State University Professor of Art Therapy and author of Art and Art Therapy with the Imprisoned: Re-Creating Identity, Curt L. Tofteland, founder of the internationally-acclaimed program Shakespeare Behind Bars, and Omari Booker, a formerly incarcerated professional artist.

Speaking from their diverse positions as an English professor, an art therapist, a theatre practitioner, and a practicing visual artist, they will discuss the value of arts-based prison education. Topics covered during the discussion will include art and incarceration across the world, visual art as psychotherapy, Shakespeare as a transformative force, and painting as an expression of freedom.