Transformation through negotiation: Initiating the Inmate Mural Arts Program

In 2008, the newly developed Inmate Mural Arts Program (IMAP) conceived, developed, and completed its inaugural project—a 22 ft × 47 ft mural painted on the front of a chapel on the grounds of a prison in rural Florida. This mural, entitled “Transformation through Unity,” was completed in collaboration between faculty and students of the Florida State University Graduate Art Therapy Program and a group of prison inmates. This project, complicated in scope and execution, was a students’ masters’ art therapy graduation project. The IMAP project took approximately 8 months to develop and complete. The process required formal and informal negotiations at all levels to succeed. This project overview will present a brief background and history of the project, review the negotiations that occurred prior to, during, and after its execution, and will present the completed mural. It will conclude with a brief overview of anticipated future projects. The negotiations ultimately produced a product that demonstrated the value and benefits of art for this population. The end piece has resulted in far-reaching implications and results, and has become the first of a series of successful projects for the new Inmate Mural Arts Program.