Tenth Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners March 21, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(March 8, 2005)

PRISONER ART SHOW NOW IN ITS TENTH YEAR

ANN ARBOR, MI - The Tenth Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners
will take place March 22 to April 5 at the Duderstadt Center (formerly the
Media Union) Gallery on the University of Michigan North Campus at 2281
Bonisteel Blvd. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Gallery hours
are from 10am to 7pm Tuesday-Saturday and 12pm to 6pm Sunday-Monday, with
an opening reception March 22 from 5:30 to 8pm.

Over the last decade, this nationally recognized show has grown to include
nearly 350 works of art with a broad range of styles, mediums, and themes,
by over 200 artists. According to Jamal Biggs, a featured artist, ?the
exhibit has helped in eliminating the 'us versus them' mindset among the
free public and the incarcerated and assists in facilitating a sense of
community that joins both segments of the population.? Last year, over
4,000 people attended this powerful and dynamic event. Organizers expect
even higher attendance and an exciting array of new work at this year's
show.

University of Michigan Art & Design Professor and artist Janie Paul and
English Professor and Founder of the Prison Creative Arts Project Buzz
Alexander serve as co-curators of the exhibit. Along with student and
community volunteers, Paul and Alexander travel to 40 prisons throughout
the state each year to hand-select the strongest examples of art created in
Michigan prisons. As a result of the Annual Exhibition, Michigan prison
artists have become national leaders in the quality, breadth, and vision of
their artwork.

Select works from this year's show will become part of a special United
Nations exhibit in San Francisco, California as a part of events
surrounding World Environment Day. Highlighting the void of nature in
prisons and inner cities, the UN exhibit is set for June 2005.

In conjunction with the Tenth Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan
Prisoners, the Prison Creative Arts Project will sponsor a series of
educational events that will include speakers from around the country,
creative presentations, and panel discussions with formerly incarcerated
artists and families of the incarcerated. See attached Events Schedule.

The general public is invited to the show's free opening reception on March
22 from 5:30pm to 8:00pm in the Duderstadt Center Gallery. Ionia Maximum
Correctional Facility Art Instructor Herschell Turner and Michigan
Department of Corrections Director Patricia Caruso will join formerly
incarcerated artists as reception speakers.

The Tenth Annual Exhibition is sponsored by the National Endowment for the
Arts, the UM Department of English Language and Literature, the UM School
of Art and Design, Arts at Michigan, Kolossos Printing, Randy Parrish Fine
Framing and Art, and the Michigan Student Assembly.