by Mick Rhodes | mickrhodes@claremont-courier.com

Pomona College’s iconic KSPC 88.7 FM is set to launch a new program in partnership with The Prison Arts Collective, “Outside:Inside Radio.”

The show will air twice weekly—Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays at 9 a.m.—beginning Thursday, December 17.

It promises inspirational stories of artists, writers and musicians impacted by incarceration.

“The pandemic has of course been hard on everyone, but for those who are incarcerated it’s meant even more restricted activities in lockdown,” said Pomona College’s Director of Student Media Erica Tyron.

“Over the past few decades KSPC has received many letters, cards and song requests from our local inmates, so when the Prison Arts Collective reached out about creating this new show as a way to reach people inside with stories of inspiration we knew that not only would it reach the intended audience, it will help to raise awareness with all of our listeners about the lives of people within and after they’ve lived through the prison system.”

The radio series is an extension of PAC’s distance learning project, created in response to COVID-19. Each of the show’s guests will be a returned resident who continues to pursue a creative life after experiencing incarceration.

Some of the upcoming guests include Utah-based artist Carol Alden, who will talk about her work engaging people impacted by domestic violence through her craft art; and local Inland Empire artist Damien Aguilar, who will discuss his journey as an artist.

The Prison Arts Collective is “dedicated to expanding the transformative power of the arts to people who are incarcerated, and is founded on the belief that art is a human right.”

It is based in the School of Art and Design at San Diego State University and has additional chapters at three CSU campuses: San Bernardino, Fresno and Fullerton. It is a project of Arts in Corrections, an initiative of the California Arts Council and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

For more information or questions, email prisonartscollective.info@gmail.com.

For more information about KSPC, please visit http://kspc.org or email director@kspc.org.