For 15 years, photographer Peter Merts has documented people who are incarcerated as they participate in prison arts programs. The portraits, which have been released in Merts’ new book, Ex Crucible: The Passion of Incarcerated Artists, reveal new perspectives about the limits of the carceral system as well as the power of the arts. One such image depicts the theater class at Ironwood State Prison and focuses …
Peter Merts’ Illuminating Photos of America’s Prison Arts Programs