For many years, inmates from around the country wrote to the Prison Library Project and they were amazed by the artwork that accompanied requests for books. These beautiful illustrations were their inspiration for a mail art exhibition and fundraiser.
Postmarked was developed seven years ago for the Claremont Forum’s Prison Library Project, which sends books free to prisoners in the U.S. upon their request. Providing education and opportunity to learn about mail art, view new and established mail artists’ works, and to participate in the experience of creating and sending mail art. Now in its 7th year, this exhibition is one of the largest in California.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all.
MEDIA: Please send submissions of mail art of any size and medium to: Postmarked 2011, Prison Library Project, 112 Harvard #303, Claremont CA 91711. ONLY the side with the official USPS Postmark/barcode will be displayed. Your mail art may be painted, stamped, collaged, printed, and/or otherwise decorated or constructed. It may be any shape and size that will go through the mail and receive an official postmark.
Your submission may get worn or torn through the mail, but the handling process is an important part of the theme. Only the side with the postmark can be displayed, due to space limitations, but the art doesn’t have to be limited to that side. You may include any message inside the envelope, which will be opened only by the person who purchases the art envelope. You may submit more than one piece… and begin sending now!
DEADLINE: Entries must be postmarked by May 31, 2011.
ENTRY FEE: No entry fee.
WHY SUPPORT the PLP? “Rehabilitation was at one time a stated goal of the prison system. Today, funding for most educational and rehabilitation programs, including prison libraries, has been cut or completely eliminated. It is a distressing fact that today’s U.S. prisons are increasingly about punishing people and warehousing human beings, not about, rehabilitation, or education.”
“This is where PLP steps in. We believe that everyone deserves access to literature and educational materials, including people trying to work towards social change, self-empowerment or rehabilitation within the incarceration system.
The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but more than a quarter of the world’s prisoners.
Nearly one percent of American adults are incarcerated, the highest rate in the world, but many prisoners have little access to books or educational material. They face substantial barriers and are cut off from family and friends on the outside. While some prisons have libraries, many do not. Of those that do, access and selection can be extremely limited. Usually, prisoners are not allowed to receive books from friends or family. Thus, programs like ours are one of the few options available to these individuals.” –from the PLP website.
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