IAHSJ EVENT ARCHIVE

SDSU celebrated the second VISTA Commencement at Centinela State Prison, honoring 29 graduates who earned their bachelor’s degrees in Journalism while incarcerated. Among them, 19 graduates earned academic honors, including four Summa Cum Laude graduates. The ceremony reflected the power of education to transform lives and create new possibilities. We are proud to celebrate these graduates, their resilience and SDSU’s commitment to education and transformation.

Thank you to everyone who attended the "Inside the Comic Panel" opening reception collaboration with the B Awesum and River Park Art Groove Gallery back in March. The reception featured an artist talk by Fresno Regional Lead Martin Townsend, who honored the contributing artists, explored their themes, and highlighted the impact of arts programming in prisons. The comic-book panels on display were created by incarcerated artists at Central California Women’s Facility during a multidisciplinary art class co-led by PAC Peer Facilitators Angela and Sonia. If you missed the opening, you still have a chance to attend the closing reception featuring another artist talk from Martin on May 21, 2026, from 5–8 PM at Art Groove Event Center in Fresno, California.

The event showcased artwork created by PAC participants, reflecting this year’s Chinese zodiac sign: the Fire Horse. Known for symbolizing transformative energy, political shifts, and rapid change, this sign inspired the collection. Our SDSU interns led the tabling event on San Diego State University’s campus. A huge shout-out to our incredible interns for their hard work, and thank you to the San Diego State community for supporting our event.

On April 15, PAC Program Assistant Tatianna hosted a Growing Hope Pilot Workshop in the Institute for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Justice office space. The workshop included a short art lesson and a succulent planting activity. Growing Hope is a project that aims to bring basic techniques of gardening into carceral settings with the support of San Diego State University faculty and staff. The program is designed to incorporate aspects of self expression, art education, and community building through taking care of a personal potted plant. The project was initially launched in 2024 when graduate student Juana built flower beds with participants at California Institution for Women in a community garden program. Participants grew herbs and other edible plants that were utilized by the community. Tatiana has since worked on relaunching the program with hopes to bring it back into California prisons. Stay tuned for future updates on this project!

PAC was honored to host the reception for Art of Resilience, an exhibition presented last month by the Prison Arts Collective in collaboration with the California Western School of Law’s Innocence & Justice Clinic. The show centers on the awareness of art as a human right and highlights artistic expression as a bridge between communities. The reception followed the panel, “Innocence Work as a Catalyst for Change,” featuring Alexis Hoag-Foudjour (Brooklyn Law School), Amy Kimple (California Western Innocence & Justice Clinic), and Ty Alper (UC Berkeley Law). Thank you to the Innocence & Justice Clinic for welcoming us and exhibiting our participants’ work, it was a beautiful evening!

Our team at the Institute for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Justice hosted a festive celebration that brought together creativity, community, and holiday spirit through a series of hands-on activities, including card making, a paper chain workshop, and cookie decorating.

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) scholars came by the IAHSJ office to check out the work we do. SWU is a prominent public university in Bangkok, Thailand, known for its origins in teacher training and expanding into diverse fields like sciences, humanities, and engineering, offering numerous programs at bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, and fostering international collaborations.

PAC hosted a free online screening of the documentary “Facilitating Change: The Vision of Prison Arts Collective,” produced by Prison Arts Collective (PAC) in collaboration with Avalie Media. The virtual event took place on Thursday, December 18.

Prison Arts Collective was proud to participate in the Northern Lights Bash hosted by the Phoenix on December 4th, 2025. The Phoenix is a nonprofit that fosters a supportive, physically active community for individuals who are recovering from a substance use disorder & those who choose to live sober.

PAC tabled at the San Diego State University's Thursday Farmers' Market on December 4th, 2025. We had a great time sharing program information, making origami sculptures, and petting our favorite corgi with everyone who stopped by!