Linkage Community to Launch as Independent Initiative Supporting Artists Across Michigan Living Beyond Incarceration

Statewide Creative Network Will Transition from University of Michigan’s Prison Creative Arts

Project on August 1, 2025

ANN ARBOR, MI — [June 11, 2025] After more than two decades of fostering creativity,

connection, and opportunity for artists who are formerly incarcerated, the Linkage

Community will officially transition into an independent initiative on August 1, 2025.

Founded as a mentorship program under the University of Michigan’s Prison Creative Arts

Project (PCAP) in the early 2000s, Linkage has evolved into a statewide, member-driven

network supporting artists with lived experience of incarceration. With active members in

Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Flint, and other communities across Michigan, Linkage is now

recognized as the state’s leading peer-based creative reentry network.

“Linkage provides me with a platform to give a voice to those who are unable to speak because of incarceration,”

said Johnny Van Patten, a Lansing-based visual artist and founding Linkage member.

On August 1, Linkage will begin operating independently under a fiscal sponsor, marking its

departure from PCAP and the University of Michigan. The move provides autonomy to shape

programming and set strategic direction, all while maintaining a collaborative relationship

with PCAP.

“This transition is a testament to the creativity, vision, and leadership of Linkage

members themselves,” said Nora Kritinsky, Director of the Prison Creative Arts

Project. “We’re honored to have supported their growth and excited to continue

working together in new ways.”

Linkage Community members co-create programming that fosters emotional wellness,

artistic growth, peer navigation, and economic mobility. The network also provides holistic support and resource-sharing for individuals as they build lives after incarceration.

Pillars of

programming include:

● Belonging: “Welcome to Linkage” meals, one-on-one check-ins, in-person and virtual

gatherings, weekly newsletter

● Bridging Gaps: Personalized referrals to social services, travel support for in-person

events, pre-entry parole board support, technology coaching, free digitization of

artwork

● Development: Exhibitions and performances, in-person intensives and trainings,

project consultations, free art supplies, professional introductions

A send-off fundraising campaign is underway to ensure a strong launch. Supporters can

contribute at https://myumi.ch/VVDdV. Funds will help establish a sustainable foundation and

ensure Linkage continues to welcome artists home from prison into a supportive and vibrant

creative community.

“At its core, it’s a network of people with lived experience of incarceration who

believe in dignity, in each other, and in the power of creativity,” said Casey Ward, a

creative writer, entrepreneur, and valued Linkage member.

“We’ve made something rare: a circle where people are truly seen. Not for what they’ve been through, but for what they bring—their art, their insight, their care.”

About the Linkage Community

The Linkage Community is a member-driven network of artists and creatives directly

impacted by incarceration. Originally founded within the University of Michigan’s Prison

Creative Arts Project, Linkage now operates as an independent initiative rooted in peer

support, care, and collective leadership.

Programming supports social and emotional wellness, creative development, and economic mobility.

Mission: To form a creative network with and for people directly impacted by incarceration.

Together, we dismantle isolation, build bridges of opportunity, and connect through

creativity.

Vision: A future where creatives thrive beyond incarceration, linked into dynamic arts

networks to connect, collaborate, and grow.

About the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP)

Founded in 1990 and housed at the University of Michigan, PCAP brings those impacted by

the justice system into the arts community through theater, visual art, creative writing, and

poetry. PCAP fosters spaces for connection, healing, and transformation through creative

expression.