An annual art exhibition featuring works by incarcerated individuals in Arizona sold 200 pieces on May 16, raising over $18,000 for a scholarship at Arizona State University. The show, titled "{Ink}arcerated: Creativity within Confinement," displayed more than 400 artworks and drew approximately 600 visitors to a vacant retail space at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix. Organized by ASU criminology professor Kevin Wright, the event has raised a cumulative total of more than $70,000 since its launch in 2017, with this year's proceeds marking the largest single-show amount to date. A second public sale is scheduled for June 6 during Phoenix's First Fridays art walk.
The event matters because it directly supports higher education for people affected by the correctional system—including formerly or currently incarcerated individuals and their families—through the ASU Center for Correctional Solutions Scholarship, established in 2024. Beyond fundraising, the exhibition challenges societal perceptions of incarcerated people by showcasing their creativity and humanity, fostering community engagement, and demonstrating the rehabilitative power of art. The sustained partnership with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry further highlights a growing institutional recognition of arts programming within correctional settings.