Expanding Access to Art Programs in County Jails

Where I’m From
By Meredith Richardson

I am from the softball fields,
from Easton ball bats and Greyhound buses.
I am from Northcutt Cove,
from briars and snakes,
the sound of crickets.
I am from bluebells and daffodils
that bloom in the early spring.
I am from Thanksgiving dinners,
from Tennessee Volunteer football,
from Bobby and Connie.
I am from athletes and hard work,
from Don’t Give Up to Do the Right Thing.
I am from God-fearing, bible-reading,
going to church every Sunday.
I am from Northcut Cove, another one of Dr. Harbott’s babies.
I am from Aunt Terry’s chicken dressing, Mama’s dumplings, Daddy’s hulemo,
from Cherokee blood through and through,
an arrowhead hunting freak.

Arts Inside is a community-based, grassroots organization that provides art and education programs for incarcerated people and their families in rural middle Tennessee.  We use the arts as a tool for expression, healing, and connection for incarcerated individuals and their families in rural middle Tennessee. While mindful of systemic injustices, we aim to create spaces outside of and within correctional facilities for personal and communal healing through multidisciplinary arts and writing programming. As such, a key component of our programs is expanding knowledge and access to art to an underserved population.  Through our provision of programming, art instructors, and supplies, incarcerated people are increasingly able to create identities as “artists,” some even gaining profit from the sale of their work to the community. 

Since our organization’s founding in 2017, we have offered regular creative programming in three local county jails, including more than 100 programmatic activities and approximately 257 creative programming hours. Additionally, we have collaborated with a number of partners to conduct several public art shows that have provided incarcerated artists to share their creations with family, friends, and their communities. Due to immense need and our program successes, four other counties in the area have requested our services for their jails; however, while we have the volunteer infrastructure in place, we need additional funds to provide programming to the individuals in these facilities who are in dire need of a creative outlet.

The above poem was written by Meredith Richardson during an Arts Inside program at the Grundy County, Tennessee jail. Meredith is 40 years old and has three children. She has struggled for several years with dependency on substances and incarceration, but she is currently sober and in recovery while residing in a halfway house and working full-time. She also volunteers at a homeless shelter as a way to give back to her community. As for her poem, Meredith felt that the process of writing and reading it aloud brought back good memories of a happy childhood and made her feel loved while in jail.

Please consider a donation to help us expand to additional jails to serve more incarcerated people in need!