Our Promise

"This artwork isn't out to make an overtly political statement. Like all good art, it organizes elements in the world around it in order to make an audience see and feel in a new way."

We believe we can use public, programmable, transparent flows of value in order to cultivate compassion. We don't wish to establish a new world order: if we make a genuine and felt difference in the life of just one person, that will be enough. If we illustrate the kinds of collective economic storytelling practices required to create new systems of restorative justice, then it will be a dream come true.

Partner With Us

Much like happiness, dreams are only real when shared. We're always looking for community partners - people who run existing prison art programs, or who already work with government institutions - who would like to help create more systems of restorative justice.

We will assist you in setting up the tools you'll need to particpate in this project, which is really just one thing. You'll need to create a digital wallet to which some pre-specified percentage of any proceeds will be programmatically sent once any sale is concluded.

The Pr1s0n Art Project itself uses a Gnosis Safe wallet, which requires multiple signatures to authorise any transaction, just like some bank accounts. If you have no experience with this technology, we recommend you begin by setting up MetaMask, a browser extension which secures your keys and will live in the top right of your screen for whenever you need it.

Restoration

Prior to any auction, we agree on how proceeds will be split, and encode that split verifiably and publicly in a smart contract to be distributed immediately upon the completion of the auction:

  • x% to pay back the debt of the artists (the majority).
  • y% to the Community Partner or organization (the minority).
  • 10% to fund future projects in a sustainable fashion.
Money used to pay the artist’s debt is sent to an account controlled by PR1S0N ART INC. a Florida 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, which is responsible for exchange and payment, as well as reattaching receipts to the artwork to complete the story of restoration.

Our Promise

Only digital copies are sold through PR1S0N ART.

We commit to:

  • Transparency
  • Honesty
  • Clear communication
If you provide the artwork and provenance/stories, as well as what we request in the next section, PR1S0N ART will:
  • Promote
  • Auction
  • Sell, and
  • Distribute
    • Proceeds based on our customized and agreed upon percentages, tailored to your specific needs.

Our Needs

We recognize that this service could be useful to many people. However, we also know that there is no good without bad, and we need you to provide everything listed below to help us ensure that we truly are serving people, and not putting them at risk of further harm, be that from legal authorities, or other incarcerated persons.
It is critical that each sale is done with the utmost integrity, so that we can continue to do our work.

  • A sale agreement authorizing you to digitize inmate art and sell the digital copy. Simply fill out the highlighted fields.
  • Curated biographical/auto-biographical write-ups, video, essays, poetry or other work done by the artist, or any other pieces that create provenance and help promote the work.
  • Specific debts held by the artist, including electronic payment addresses for:
    • restitution fees,
    • court fees,
    • child services, and
    • other debts they may owe not listed here.
  • A brief summary of how debt payments work if not in the US.
    • Can anyone pay these debts?
    • To whom are they paid?
    • How is confirmation of payment processed?

In addition to these needs, we also ask you to consider the few questions below and provide answers if applicable:

  • Does the jurisdiction impose monetary limits on what incarcerated individuals can earn?
  • Is authorization of the incarcerating jurisdiction required?
  • Are you able to participate in the promotion of the artworks/artist?

Common Questions

How can we be sure that the percentage of sales will be split according to our agreement?

Each new art project is created by virtue of a "smart contract": some public code on Ethereum that anyone in the world can see and verify for themselves. When creating a new art project, this contract enforces that the percentage splits for any sale are specified. Once this is done, there is no way to change it and whatever money is made from the sale is automatically split by the same contract. This is what we mean when we say we can use public, programmable, transparent flows of value in order to cultivate compassion. Our intention is clear, verifiable and irreversible from the moment any art project is created.

What happens to any extra proceeds?

Often jurisdictions place a limit on how much prisoners can receive from any activity while incarcerated. Or, it may be the case that a project sells for more money than the debt owed by the prisoners involved. What happens in this case? We simply leave the extra money in our public, on-chain Treasury account, which is controlled by a registered 501(c)(3) company in Florida. It can then be used to pay down debt in other projects, or for various other possible prisoner needs as and when they arise. The important thing is that, as a Non-Profit, we literally cannot profit from this: we are here to serve the needs of those for whom justice has yet to balance the books.