Prison Art, a non-profit created by a former inmate, hires prisoners to tattoo pieces of leather. The designs are then turned into bags, wallets, belts and jackets, to be sold in luxury markets.
All profits go to help the families of prisoners, including financial support for education, healthcare and day-to-day livelihood.
The project also offers jobs, good wages and a creative outlet for prisoners both while they’re incarcerated and after they’re released.
Jorge Cueto, the creator of Prison Art, served 11 months in a western Mexican prison in 2012 on fraud charges until he was found [not guilty] and released.
“Mexican prisons are not crime universities. It is society that’s forcing young men who come out to return to crime because they lack opportunities, which also makes them easy recruiting targets for organised crime groups inside prison,” said Cueto.
Prison Art pays inmates up to US$400 per month for several patches of leather, and puts them in a re-insertion program that can lead to a job making the purses outside once they are released.
The only condition for taking part in the project is to stay off drugs, attend detox therapy and give half the earnings to relatives.
Prison Art is now more than two years old, employing 240 inmates in six penitentiaries.
(via http://str.sg/4SrC )
Currently selling online (shipping worldwide), Cueto has 5 stores in Mexico, with plans to expand into the United States, London and Spain.
Browse Prison Art’s full collection: prisonart.com.mx
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