Project

Life Inside: Art in Brazil Prisons

This wasn't your typical study abroad trip.

Twenty University of Michigan students and faculty traveled to Rio de Janiero—but not to take classes or learn the language. They were studying the prison system in Brazil and the role that the arts play. These students had already spent a semester working in Michigan prisons. Now in Brazil, as part of the Prison Creative Arts Project, they would perform original works and lead theater workshops—interacting not only with prisoners but with their families and students at the University of the State of Rio (UniRio).

Brazil: Taking Arts Behind Bars

Since 1990, University of Michigan students have been facilitating fine arts workshops in local prisons. In 2016, they took to a global stage, exploring prison arts in Brazil.