Duncan Martinez, incarcerated artist. 
Artist Post Fiction speaks about the Healing Through Art program at CSP-Los Angeles County. 
Frieze Los Angeles showcased artwork by incarcerated people. 
Healing Through Art, an arts group inside CSP-Los Angeles County, donates artwork to community-based organizations as a way of giving back. Some of their work was recently curated for a show on the back-lot at Paramount Studios. 
Artwork created by incarcerated people at CSP-Los Angeles County was curated for a special show. From left are Assembly member District 54 Sydney Kamlager, Senate Majority Leader Robert M. Hertzberg, Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) Director Sam Lewis, Lt. Karla Graves, Warden R. C. Johnson, artist Chris Branscombe, and Chaplain Abdul-Wahab Omeira. The picture was taken on the Paramount Studios Back Lot during the Frieze Art Show.
By Lt. Karla Graves
Frieze Projects curators Rita Gonzalez and Pilar Tompkins Rivas visited the art studio at California State Prison, Los Angeles County (LAC), where they met with the incarcerated artists and worked with the members of the studio to select work that represented their stories and experience.
Part of the curated program on the back-lot of Paramount Studios, Frieze Los Angeles was presented by the Endeavor Foundation. Out of Bounds features work by artists in custody at LAC. The Out of Bounds art collection could not have been possible without assistance from the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), an organization empowering formerly and currently incarcerated people to thrive by providing a support network, comprehensive services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change.
“The way the system is defined, we are basically useless. We have no power. But when I’m doing a piece of art, I have all the power,” said incarcerated artist Duncan Martinez. “I don’t think I’m less because I’m in prison. I just happen to be in prison. I’m still a human being.”
“The philosophy of Healing Through Art is about giving back to the community. This iteration of it started in 2009. It’s community based. We partner up with organizations that do good work in the community,” said an incarcerated artist who goes by Post Fiction. The group donates artwork to organizations putting on fundraisers. The community groups keep all of the proceeds from the sale.