International Journal for Creativity Inside
Proposal abstracts due by 1 September 2025
The teaching and practice of creative expression in carceral facilities, often called arts-in-corrections or arts-in-criminal justice, continues to emerge as a professional and creative field internationally. This field is characterized as a growing ecosystem of supporting organizations, including those engaged in education, arts exhibitions, sales, librarianship, philanthropy, therapeutic interventions through the arts and art making, efforts to advance or standardize archival practices, teacher training in the arts, the publication of books about artists and their works, and recording and distribution of their music. The field includes government and foundation funded programs and research on arts in corrections and legislation to support tuition for students inside correctional institutions.
To further advance this field, editors are pleased to announce a new, open source International Journal for Creativity Inside, published by Florida State University and the Creative Prisons Project in Chicago, to feature works by scholars, practitioners, and students engaged in arts-in-correction, bringing together disciplines including the arts, librarianship, clinicians, and corrections to advance understanding of and to celebrate developments in this field. Its mission, in brief, is to highlight, support, and expand the value of creativity in carceral systems to people in prison and to society. Toward this end, IJCI will advance knowledge and public discourse on the role of creativity in carceral institutions globally by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarly research and practice-based explorations along with curated, insightful perspectives, creative works, and book reviews related to artistic, literary, and other creative endeavors within carceral settings. IJCI is freely available online, and its operations are sustained through volunteer editors. The expanding editorial board will include university faculty, artists and scholars, corrections professionals, and people with lived experience in carceral facilities.
The Journal invites submissions from educators, researchers, clinicians, artists, art historians, librarians, corrections professionals, students, lawyers, policymakers, and others, in any of the following topics from any country worldwide:
• Case studies of specific AIC programs, including pedagogy and evaluation components.
• Evaluations of program outcomes, including methodologies.
• Descriptive surveys of AIC programs by type in specified geopolitical areas, which may be highlighted in separate issues.
• Descriptions of programs to train AIC teachers.
• Research and practice-based reports on various therapeutic arts/arts therapies programs and interventions.
• Descriptions of working relationships with correctional superintendents and staff, including examples of agreements, if possible.
• Reviews of books, public exhibitions, or films and visitor reactions.
• Research on the behavioral outcomes of AIC program participants.
• Research on the linkage between AIC programing and desistance and recidivism outcomes following community re-entry.
• The role of foundations in promoting AIC programs.
• The role of libraries in supporting AIC programs.
• The role of copyright protection in AIC activities.
• Supplementing AIC programs with poverty-reduction and/or re-entry educational programming.
• Barriers to AIC programming.
• Comparisons of AIC programs undertaken in federal versus state facilities.
Papers may be theoretical, practice-based, or empirical research papers that develop or test, if appropriate, hypotheses using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, or perspectives on policy and practice to spark insight and discourse. Collaborations with incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people, as well as professionals in the corrections/criminal justice field, and examples of creative works, used with permission, are encouraged. Copyright to published content will remain with the authors. If you are interested in submitting a paper proposal on any of the above topics or one that you propose, please email before 1 September 2025 a 600-word abstract, outline of contents, methodology, and fit with the journal, along with a brief biographical statement less than 100 words to Dr. David Gussak, dgussak@fsu.edu.
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